Mike's Blog

Energy

2012-02-17T04:27:00.000-08:00

A quietish week in consequence of half–term I guess.

Interesting series of three articles in Third Sector by John Tizard on the “anger, helplessness, and deep frustration” shared with him by top charity chief execs “...it is clear that the attitude and behaviour of public sector policy makers, commissioners and procurers are exacerbating the situation that they find themselves in and creating really serious problems.” I hear that Surrey CC staff are claiming credit for Surrey Community Action’s successful Transforming Local Infrastructure bid…I am (almost) speechless.

John Tizard’s advice to chief execs is (as ever) to go where the energy is, and seek out opportunities.

SO, with that in mind I had a useful all day meeting of the South East Youth Partnership (SEYP) on Tuesday and heard about how other local authorities in the SE are simply transferring youth centres to be managed by local organisations (Bucks, West Sussex ) and their NEET figures are also going down. I met with our sports organisations on Wednesday evening at the Riverside Centre in Guildford – the base of the Wey Kayak Club that has 4 members of the GB Olympic Team, and over 450 members, and 50 coaches. Very impressive, and the voluntary sector at its best.

Thursday was a training day here with a skilled trainer from NCVO taking us through the Valuing Infrastructure Programme, and although I think it’s quite complex, it does have real application for us, and indeed I’ll be using it for a forthcoming awayday with Trustees. I had seen it before, and have already used it in a modified form to structure our service offer to members, and we now have the highest number of members ever!

Enjoy the week-end.

Mike

Stasis

2012-02-10T05:24:00.000-08:00

An odd week, partly because I've taken 2 days off to work on my MA Theology, so I have moved from the highly cerebral, not to say ethereal, to the practical.

So practical, that on Monday we had an office clear out / de-cluttering day, which we do every year to avoid the geological layers of files and unread, but “must keep” papers.

My more fundamental concern is that we seem to be getting to a point of stasis – where competing pressures cancel out, resulting in us all standing still, or in an alternative metaphor the blood circulating around the body politic more slowly. “The Big Society” seems moribund and no longer the subject of much public comment, whilst there is a risk of localism being overpowered by commissioning which leaves power strongly in the hands of government, whether central or local. Clearly the more substantial debate is in the NHS about the outworking of commissioning and a mixed economy of public, private and charity sector including social enterprise.

I mention all this as it was the main topic of discussion at the Surrey Voluntary Sector Chief Executives Group last Friday, at which widespread concerns were voiced about the commissioning /contracting process generally, and with particular examples across all services. This was not the sector being defensive, but an expression of deep concern about contract implementation, and impact on clients.

I gave a presentation to the Rotary Club of Guildford District at lunchtime on Wednesday about the work of Surrey Youth Focus and its members, in return for my (very nice) roast pork and sticky toffee pudding. This has since prompted some useful follow up contacts. I also spoke to one Rotarian who has prostate cancer and is walking with two friends and a back – up support team the 1,000 miles from John 0’Groats to Land’s End to fund raise for an expanded urology unit at Guildford hospital. How wonderful! Meanwhile the group of young parents we are supporting to set up their own charity to support, train and advise new young (teenage) parents are themselves making good progress.

So maybe this is the big society….just people getting on and making things happen…regardless.

Enjoy Italy v. England but I am at the Old Vic in London watching Comedy of Errors. Have fun.

Mike

Morphing

2012-02-03T05:28:00.000-08:00

Well, I have at last succumbed to the dreaded virus, and had a day’s sick leave on Monday, which is almost unprecedented in my 4 years here, and I feel very underpowered.

Congratulations to Surrey Community Action for leading a successful Transforming Local Infrastructure bid and winning the maximum grant of £600,000. This will oil the wheels of a transformative change between SCA and the local Councils for Voluntary Services (CVS), and, in my view see them all morphing into a new single organisation.

The Government (DCLG – Mr Pickles) announced a new £10 mill grant to a grouping of uniformed organisations enabling them to train up new volunteers and expand membership by 10,000. BUT NOT in Surrey. So I met with the Chairman of the Combined Cadet Forces and we discussed and agreed on the need to campaign and lobby for similar funding for all Surrey ’s successful uniformed organisations..so successful that they have huge waiting lists.

I also had a very positive meeting with the businessman in Woking through whom we are setting up a social enterprise, and we now have new impetus, premises identified and the final legal documents being sorted out, and a start date. Though small in scale it does link two factors together- unemployment with job opportunity/enterprise for young people, and if we can make it work it can then be extended elsewhere. Incidentally, the Surrey youth unemployment figure has just increased slightly – to 2,960, but those out of work for more than 6 or 12 months are going up, so the business is much needed as it will specifically recruit and train unemployed young people.

I hope my health will improve over the weekend…inspired by Scotland v. England rugby on Saturday….inspired by an England win of course, though they are definitely the underdogs this season.

Mike

Drama

2012-01-27T01:53:00.000-08:00

Well it’s been a busy but really rewarding week. The Surrey14-19 Partnership on Monday revealed the difficulties that FE Colleges are experiencing now in building up young people who leave school without English and Maths GCSE (Wolf report requirement) and yet Surrey schools do really well (62.9% having 5 GCSE passes including Maths/English) …but 4,000 do not. We touched on education and links to corporates with Anne Milton MP who came to see us last Friday. She is very impressive, knowledgeable and supportive of the voluntary sector.

We had a brief training session with a social media consultant (Nicky Kriel - recommended) on Tuesday morning that gave us practical ideas for marketing Surrey Youth Focus better in future. This was followed by our Trustees meeting in the evening which approved our budget for 2012/13, aided by some unexpected but very welcome additional income. We have several new Trustees and this is a very strong and effective Board. Investment of time in good governance is really worthwhile. The main theme for the meeting was about "Positive for Youth" the Government’s policy paper on young people, which is on our website, as is my powerpoint summarising it. My only real criticism of it is that it’s weak on workforce development.

I stood down as a Board member of RAISE at its AGM on Wednesday..and it was good to catch up there with Jean Roberts–Jones former CX of Surrey Community Action who is enjoying her new job at Eastleigh.

I went to Guildford FE College on Thursday. The college has a budget of £40 mill and does great work with its students- they are becoming Partner members of ours and we were exploring complementary activities. I’m looking forward to receiving the College students’ DVD of the “Young people and society” debate in Guildford, which they filmed, and is now ready. I am sure there is much that can be done to benefit the College and Surrey Youth Focus members. Also heard on Thursday that we are to be receiving £500 from County Councillor Frost towards the cost of Surrey Youth News, which is much appreciated.

Then last night I went to a performance by the amazing and very gifted young actors of Peer Productions (Knaphill, Woking ) who put on a brilliant performance of their Alcohol Project. This is a 90 minute long musical drama that has a narrative about the experiences of young people who end up in A&E after a drunken Friday night. Importantly the drama is founded on real facts and researched experiences about the impact of alcohol on young people. It is a powerful bitter/sweet drama. It can be delivered to schools, colleges at a cost of £600 (plus travel costs). Highly recommended.

I found it difficult to know how to respond as an audience member, knowing that every bit of hilarity would be followed by some personal tragedy…..and almost too real…for the youth development worker in my team also works part – time for a Borough Council, running a youth centre where recently she had to deal with two drunken (as in "totally wasted") and violent 14/15 year old girls at 6.00pm. Very challenging. Drama and reality become as one.

And finally, I am off this afternoon to visit a mother and toddler group formed by teenage parents with support from a County Council youth worker, who now want to become a voluntary organisation to help other teenage mums. Isn’t that great?!!

Mike.

PHAB

2012-01-20T03:12:00.000-08:00

Well my blogging week began with my visit last Friday evening 13 Jan with a visit to PHAB at Lintons Lane in Epsom. This is a Friday night youth club for children and young people aged 10-16, specifically including those with physical and learning difficulties. All run by volunteers and the 85 young people that night queued to get in, and had a great time, as did I. The problem is that Lintons Lane building is being closed by the County Council and sold off for redevelopment, and to be fair this large site is being underutilized as a capital asset. The building (an old girls school is semi–derelict, but it is a great space for the young people, and much loved by them. PHAB will need new premises which Surrey CC are committed to funding for them, and other users including Disability Challengers.

This led on to a meeting that I chaired on Wednesday with Sanctuary Housing, Epsom BC and Surrey CC about Sanctuary’s brilliant scheme to redevelop an office site they own as a new youth hostel (foyer) for homeless young people, and to run all sorts of youth activities from there – drug and alcohol advice, support to NEETs and so on. Great support for the project, and a good example of Surrey Youth Focus in a brokerage role.

We have set the budget for next year and although it’s in operating deficit, we have stronger reserves already thanks to some additional income this year, so I am hoping that Trustees will be ok with this at the formal meeting next week.

We are meeting with Anne Milton MP who is visiting us this morning on the back of our public debates on “Young People and Society” which we held last year in Guildford (her patch) and Epsom. I’ll report back next week.

Have fun!
Mike

Pathways

2012-01-13T02:24:00.000-08:00

Really enjoyable week – met with the senior manager supporting Child And Adolescent mental Health (CAMHS) whose Board I am joining, and great work going on with CAMHS Youth Advisers - peer advisers supporting /signposting young people.

Then I met with businessman with whom we’ve been working for two years to set up a social enterprise in Woking to provide work opportunities for those struggling to get employment or work experience. I think the pathway is now clear to get started. The problem with any start up is how to fund the initial costs, and address the cash flow issues before sales and income occurs, but I think this is now overcome. IF we can get this going it should have great potential as a social enterprise model.

I have also been building links with our members and business, partly through our “4x4” scheme but also by direct approaches to companies that are being facilitated by our trustees with business links, so last week was P&G, and this week Allianz. The Government policy paper "Positive for youth" promotes links between youth organisations and business, and at national level NCVYS, UK Youth, Business in the Community and others have all combined to promote links at national, regional and local level. I am trying to get in touch with BitC Surrey and Sussex to discuss this.

Finally, I met with our uniformed organisations last night, including the new Surrey Scout Commissioner, Roxanna Bostock to hear that Scout and Guide numbers are still rising strongly, and with people on the waiting list….names are apparently put down at birth to join Beavers and Brownies. There are still the problems of getting volunteers, but my briefing flagged up the new Community Improvement Fund (£750,000) the Leader of the County council has launched to fund local community infrastructure projects, and this was very well received indeed. So - a good week!

Best wishes,
Mike

Links

2012-01-06T02:28:00.000-08:00

Well Happy New Year to you all, and I for one had a good rest, and an enjoyable time.

Clearly 2012 will be a year of challenge with issues about the eurozone and its impact on banking, sovereign debt….growth… unemployment …can’t see private sector growing fast enough to replace public sector cutbacks. But also a year of change as colleagues in Surrey Community Action and the Councils for Voluntary Services consolidate in some way to prepare for being commissioned in 2013/14.

For our part, we will “stick to core business”, remain small, innovative and focused on our member organisations.

In regard to the latter, we had a useful meeting with Proctor and Gamble this week who are sponsoring our Celebration of Youth again this year (Sat 24 March pm) and may also help us in other ways.

I do think that voluntary sector/ business links are crucial. Interesting therefore to see that just before Christmas the Government announced two things: its new “Positive for Youth” policy, and also the promotion of work by Business in the Community and Youth Charities (including NCVYS) to work more closely together. We are promoting our “4x4” programme, linking 4 member organisations to 4 businesses. Launching with Surrey Chambers at the end of this month…..off to see Allianz next week.

All the best
Mike

Reflecting

2011-12-16T07:58:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone – this is my last Blog for 2011, and so it’s a bit more reflective, and longer than usual.

The final stage of the lengthy commissioning process for services to young people looks likely resulting in Surrey Youth Consortium being likely to win some, but not all, of the contracts available – see Cabinet report for 20 Dec. on our website.

Surrey CC is moving to a commissioning process for voluntary sector support service bodies like the district/borough Councils for Voluntary Services (CVS) and Surrey Community Action (SCA) with effect from April 2013, and reducing grants to them all in 2012/13. My colleagues are also experiencing the imminent ending of a variety of government grants and in consequence SCA has just given 3 months notice of the likelihood of redundancy to a large group of staff. Whilst unavoidable now, it is a great pity that this is happening. My colleagues are pinning hopes of some offset by the prospect of a successful Transforming Local Infrastructure bid to the Lottery (£600,000 sought). Restructuring, mergers and, I fear, redundancies will be in evidence regardless of the success of the bid, but it’s tough on those likely to be losing their jobs in March. Happily our own core grant for next year is being maintained, though we are experiencing cuts elsewhere.

A sub -group of Trustees met this week to consider the budget for next year, and whilst this will be a second year of deficit budget, our reserves are strong enough at present to see us through 2012/13. I am grateful for the trust and flexibility being exercised by Trustees. Fundraising is crucial for next year as it is for every other organisation, and we are preparing bids; the pity is that whilst we have to prioritise this, we can’t be delivering to our members so easily.

However, we are progressing some things. Our “4X4” project links 4 member charities to 4 businesses, and we are now actively engaged with the Chamber of Commerce in “match- making” the first group at the end of January. On the governance front we are strengthening the Board of Trustees/ Directors and will shortly have an outstandingly able Board. We are bringing together (brokering) some key stakeholders interested in the redevelopment of a site in Epsom owned by Sanctuary Housing that will become a new build supported housing hostel for homeless young people.

My perception is that there are two worrying issues amongst young people in Surrey : youth homelessness, and anxiety/depression. I am joining the Board of CAMHS so hopefully can contribute to the debate on the latter issue.

My Chairman and I had a very good meeting with the Leader of the County Council last week who intimated that he would have an important announcement at Tuesday’s County Council meeting, and indeed he then announced a £750,000 community grants programme for infrastructure projects and a commitment to partnership with the sector. Good news!

I think 2012 will be a year in which to read up about chaos theory; I think some organisation structures will break up, and be re-formed in a different shape. Whilst the background of financial pressures will continue, I also think there will be more opportunities for those who hold their nerve to access new targeted programmes from Government (who cannot run with 3 mill people unemployed and expect to be re- elected in May 2015) and from social finance/ philanthropy.

Surrey Youth Focus is clear about what it’s doing, and our place in the scheme of things (stay small, low cost, innovative, risk – taking, and high profile for our members’ sake).

And finally, my thanks to my small team of very big people – Kate Peters (Members Services), Karen Moore (social media) and Marie Silvester (Youth Development worker) – I think we all deliver way more at lower cost than could reasonably be expected from just 2.5 FTEs worth of staff, and we go into next year with confidence.

Happy Christmas, and an enterprising New Year!

Mike

It is the Season

2011-12-09T01:24:00.000-08:00

Several important developments this week.

I attended (as Chair) the South East Youth Partnership on Wednesday and it’s always useful for catching up on news from other authorities. Bucks CC have transferred their youth centres straight to local community organisations to run, with a dowry….

The Government’s new policy on “Positive for Youth” is due out shortly – you can check progress at: http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/youngpeople/Positive%20for%20Youth/b0077531/positive-for-youth-discussion-papers

Excellent meeting with Louise Puntner from Surrey Chambers, and facilitated by our trustee Nigel Biggs, about our 4X4 Scheme (title invented by Yvonne Hignell of HALOW) whereby we link 4 charities to 4 businesses in a long term mentoring type relationship – skills transfer, support and advice, and perhaps funding, but that is a secondary aim. We will have this up and running with the first 4 by the end of January.

I seem to have been at County hall a lot this week. First, on Monday my Chairman, David Hypher and I met with David Hodge (Surrey CC Leader) and Kay Hammond (Cabinet member – young people) about various issues, and were able to mention the prospective development of a new youth hostel in the centre of Epsom for homeless young people, which will trigger some reorganization of youth centres in the area, and be of great benefit. We are acting in a brokerage capacity with the key stakeholders.

Then on Thursday morning I participated in a discussion about how Surrey CC might respond to the Localism Act. There was some muddled thinking around about commissioning, and I thought a failure to recognize that adoption of the principle of subsidiarity (correctly) needed to be preceded by being clear about what standards or norms need first to be done centrally. I also discerned a wariness about losing entrenched roles (amongst councilors of both county and district) and an unwillingness to address Surrey’s in built high cost structure of three tiers (county, district, parish), but will taxpayers put up with this in future?

And finally a lovely Christmas Reception at County Hall last night hosted by the Chairman (Lavinia Sealy) and at last I’m beginning to feel in the Christmas mood!

Greetings,
Mike

Sky High

2011-12-02T00:58:00.000-08:00

A strange, rather dark week – the international/national and hence local news is very disquieting and takes me back to 16 Sept 1992 (our wedding anniversary) when interests rates when sky high that day 22% , until Norman Lamont, the Chancellor then pulled the UK out of the European Monetary Union.

If anyone thinks these international events are not relevant, you are mistaken; Surrey CC is facing another round of spending cuts already in addition to those already made, and this will impact on the voluntary, community and faith sector in due course.

My concern is for the impact of all this on young people, and I am checking on statistics in two areas: youth homelessness, and on the mental health/wellbeing of young people. In regard to the after I am replacing Pete Brayne (Guildford YMCA) on the CAMHS board. Surprisingly, the latest statistics for unemployment amongst young people aged under 25 (in October) have gone down - no obvious explanation other than the resilience of the Surrey economy. Last Friday’s “Young people and society” public meeting at NESCOT FE college in Epsom went ok – 45 people or so, including a group of students for whom the key issue was how to get work experience placements as part of their course.

We had a Keeping in Touch meeting with Surrey CC’s Assistant Director for Young People (Garath Symonds) on Wednesday, and it seems that the Surrey Youth Consortium has done ok in the bidding process for contracts but no formal announcements are yet made. Quiet satisfaction.

I was then at County Hall again on Thursday giving evidence to a Select C’tee about the cuts in grants to voluntary infrastructure bodies and its intention to move to a commissioning model. The SCC officers have been very open and collaborative in their working and this was acknowledged. I then has a Sports Partnership in the afternoon, working on the action plan to implement the Sports Strategy.

My mood for the week has not been helped by being stuck on the A3 yesterday for over an hour because of an overturned lorry, then spending an hour getting out of Guildford in the evening, and hearing rather discouraging news from the Lottery about a grant bid, though I am pressing on with it, but to a different funding stream. The good news is that a further grant payment is being paid by Surrey CC that enables us to retain our youth development worker during 2011/12.

Off now to the Children and Young People’s Assembly – more next week.
Mike

Mixed Economies

2011-11-25T02:03:00.000-08:00

Interesting week.

I see that in an opinion poll the charity sector was the 3rd most trusted institution (after the Army, and the NHS). In the same posting (from Third Sector) Kevin Curley of NCVO warns against charities getting too close to corporates (and social finance).

I sense that we’re getting to a dividing point in the sector soon. Some charities will continue to rely on local support/funding, and/or be part of a national body (like Scouts/Guides) and avoid any form of contracting, or social enterprise. Others will set out to win contracts within a commissioning process and/or to become social enterprises. In short there will be a sharper "mixed economy" within the sector in future in my view. However commissioners (mainly local authorities) will have to be careful that they don’t find winning contractors that are strange bedfellows - I make this point in relation to the new commissioning process that Surrey CC is engaging in for support service bodies (from 2013).

These thoughts were prompted in particular by three events this week.

First, our national body – NCVYS (National Council for Voluntary Youth Services) held a regional consultation meeting here, and said that views in the south-east (favouring social enterprise/finance links to corporates etc) were very different from other regions - who preferred a more traditional relationship with central/local government (only).

Second, we are putting in a Lottery bid with the Community Foundation for Surrey, and Surrey Community Action to create an Innovation and Replication hub for Surrey, brokering projects for social finance, and social enterprise…so it’s pretty clear where I stand on the issue above! I also met with a youth worker who has already set up a community interest company (CiC), and is EXACTLY the sort of organisation that our Lottery bid would aim to assist.

Third, I met with a housing association that hopefully will be building a new hostel for homeless and needy young people in Epsom, and it was interesting to hear of their different experiences of bidding for contracts elsewhere around the country.

Off shortly to our second public meeting about “Young people and society “ at NESCOT FE college in Epsom. This morning’s breaking news is about a new Government initiative to address youth unemployment….whatever happened to the Future Jobs Fund? Ah yes… I remember!

And finally met, in a private capacity, the Appointments Secretaries of the Prime Minister and the Archbishop of Canterbury - being consulted, with many others, about a new Bishop for Chichester – now that’s different! Family lunch on Sunday to celebrate: eldest son’s new granddaughter and a new breakthrough job (his, not hers!), youngest son getting engaged at last! Any excuse for serious food.

Enjoy the week-end…and start of Advent.
Mike

Pop

2011-11-18T02:21:00.000-08:00

This has been a frustrating week, blighted by the loss of internet access and the ability to receive incoming emails during the day, but only overnight en bloc. However, as of Thursday we were back up and running properly, but do not mention the words "BT Broadband" for several weeks please!! So a rather thin week I’m afraid.

I had a “realistic” discussion with my Management and Finance trustees on Tuesday about our “planned crisis” for next financial year, and then, having had a “difficult session with my MA tutor that same evening, just as I was slipping into the slough of despond (ish)…..up pops the wonderful Lottery!

The SE Regional Manager of the Lottery very kindly sent me details of the new £6 mill fund in England to promote social finance brokers such as us, and we will be bidding, but also to kick start projects that are in gestation. We have four of these that have languished somewhat and could benefit from the acceleration that a Lottery grant could fund. See details on our website.

So I end the week on a high with the prospect of working hard to bang in at least two bids by the due date (14 Dec).

We have our next public debate about young people and society on Friday 25 Nov at NESCOT in Epsom, and I am looking forward to that. The news about youth unemployment is not good – now 1million …there will be real adverse consequences…. and in Surrey it is increasing slowly – to 3,410 at September. I showed our “Every piece matters” film about needy young people again at a Surrey CC Equalities group, chaired by County Councillor Kay Hammond (Cabinet member) where I had the floor to talk about the 135,000 young people (10-19) who constitute a significant segment of Surrey ’s population. The film had a considerable impact.

I also had a great discussion yesterday with the CEO of one of our organizations working with disabled children (Disability Challengers), who supply some 40,000 play sessions to 1,200 children, whose parents bring them to Guildford from London and Portsmouth, which alone speaks volumes. So I end the week reflecting admiringly on what our member organisations do!”

Mike

Forums

2011-11-11T01:43:00.000-08:00

A frustrating and stressful week because of the failure of BT Broadband to sort out technical problems at their end. Very unimpressive, but having vented my spleen at a corporate giant, let me move on…

We had our AGM and Open Forum on Tuesday evening attended by some 42 people, which was impressive for a small organisation like us. Grateful to the Lord Lieutenant, the High Sheriff, the Chairman of the County Council and our new President, Lord Robert Baden-Powell for attending.

Vicky Westhorp from Cabinet Office (Office of Civil Society, South-east) was our principal speaker; she gave a detailed account of the impressive extent of the Government’s actions to promote the Big Society. Then Ian Burks (CX, Redhill YMCA) explained how he and his team had raised some £1.2 mill for the new Sovereign Centre – a community centre for children and young people with disabilities. The venue was Woking Sea Rangers superb new hq at the huge, brand new Hoe Community Centre built by Woking BC opposite their new leisure centre. Another great example of local leadership and multi–million investment by Woking’s Chief Exec. Ray Morgan….Big Society in action!

On Thursday morning we had a meeting of voluntary sector infrastructure organizations funded by Surrey CC about cuts in 2012/13, and then, probably more importantly, about their moving to a commissioning process for 2012/13 onwards. I have been really impressed by how SCC officers have approached this tricky task in an open and collaborative way, and how voluntary organizations have accepted (reluctantly) the need for cuts, and are keen to move on. BUT I am not sure to what extent colleagues appreciate it just how different it will feel being a “contractor”.

Hence my Delphic warnings in my powerpoint presentation to the Surrey Compact meeting in the afternoon..that was attended by, I guess, about 120 people.

My powerpoint, and the Cabinet Office report on the riots, are on our website.

Looking forward to the second of our public debates about "Young people and Society" at NESCOT (FE college, Epsom) on Friday 25 November at 1.00pm…just come along.

Mike

Reflections

2011-11-04T07:25:00.000-07:00

Interesting week in which I sense that social finance is fast becoming mainstream. On Monday I met with two large Surrey charities to assist in developing a potential social finance project on a large scale, but which will take time to be developed.

I went to the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services annual conference and AGM in London on Tuesday. The theme was “A citizen society?” Keynote speech by the excellent Tim Loughton, Minister for Children and Young people…..and he really knows his stuff. He was also emphatic that the riots were not “caused by young people” (only a quarter of those prosecuted were youths), and asked us to reflect on the geography of the events, so for example nothing happened in (deprived) Sheffield. Why not? Point being that it is too simplistic to say that the events happened in deprived areas. He also mentioned social finance/impact bonds about five times. Other highlights were: Rockcorps – encouraging the habit of volunteering by exchanging tickets for top rock concerts in return for a minimum of 4 hours volunteering, and similarly a new app “DosomeGood” to encourage volunteering. Excellent conference.

(Since then the Government has published The August riots: understanding the involvement of young people.)

Most impressive of all for me was Shaun Bailey, youth worker and Parliamentary candidate who emphasized the importance of young people taking responsibility for their lives, the need for boundaries and the great value of families, and communities as THE effective support mechanism for young people. But also a warning against hypocrisy..banks, FTSE 100 Directors pay increases, older generation ensuring its pensions whilst younger people pay for them through decades of taxes. (Ouch, bit close to home!) He is now a Big Society Ambassador.

As one of the panelists at our public debate said at our Guildford "Young people and society" event, “we need a new moral consensus”…Our next public debate about "Young People and Society" is on Friday 25 Nov. at NESCOT FE College, Epsom, at 1.00pm. Just turn up.

I note that the unemployment of young people under 25 in Surrey is still upwards, up to 3,410 JSA claimants in September.

I was interviewed yesterday as a potential trustee for a big charity for the homeless in Chichester, West Sussex, so it will be interesting to see if I have passed! A bit more volunteering from me.

And today’s trivia….Guy Fawkes worked as a steward at Midhurst Castle for some two years before the 5 Nov. Gunpowder Plot….”not a lot of people know that”..but you now do!

Keep learning and enjoy the fireworks!
Mike

Loops

2011-10-28T02:15:00.000-07:00

Last Friday’s "Young people and society" debate in Guildford went pretty well, with some 65 people attending and a high quality debate, informed by the contribution of the panel including the president of Guildford (FE) College student union who was insistent on the need to re-define a values based approach tp young people – a “moral consensus” that she felt had gone missing currently. The second public meeting is on Friday 25 November at the NESCOT (FE college) in Epsom.

This week saw the announcement of a new Surrey Scouts Commissioner, Roxanna Bostock from Spelthorne in succession to Richard Shortman, and we wish Roxanna well in her new role.

The Surrey Transforming Local Infrastructure bid was submitted yesterday. There are four key features: encouraging mergers/ collaboration of district/borough CVS, setting up a social enterprise to deal with CSR across the county, developing common performance measures, and, importantly commissioning the development of a tool kit for frontline organizations to measure impact. Surrey Youth Focus is not benefiting from any of the funding.

BUT I have had very positive meetings this week with Big Lottery SE, and with the Community Foundation, Surrey , and am hopeful that these will lead to a successful Lottery bid around innovation and replication. The Community Foundation are beginning to do research, as am I and the PCT about youth homelessness.

This links to a trip to Milton Keynes yesterday for a Social Enterprise South East invitation only event at which Nick Hurd (Minister for Civil Society) and Nick O’Donoghue (CEO Big Society Capital) were the key speakers. There was a constant theme about social enterprise, social finance and social impact bonds, and the need for the sector to be able to quantify impact and savings. There were many examples of all of these, including Big Society Capital funding a financial intermediary (£2mill) so that it in turn could fund a social enterprise (Tomorrow’s People) working with 600 NEET young people at risk of being offenders in east London.

It was very clear to me that whilst these new financial and organizational models will NOT suit all voluntary sector organizations, there is and will be a big push in this direction.

Weekend writing MA Theology dissertation which I am sure you will all want to know about later….much later!

Best wishes,
Mike

Challenge

2011-10-20T06:55:00.000-07:00

Lots of meetings this week – an informal meeting of Chairs of voluntary organisations on Monday evening, and then Tuesday evening was our own Trustees meeting.

The Transforming Local Infrastructure bid has progressed well - thanks to Peter Arnold of Surrey Community Action (SCA), and I had a brief slot about it at the SCA AGM on Tuesday morning about the TLI. The challenge is for support service organizations (cross-county, borough specific and specialist, like Surrey Youth Focus) to work out how to deliver an effective service whilst reducing back office costs. There are some innovative proposals including collaboration and mergers (not us).

On Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning I was co–interviewing for posts at RAISE (Regional Action and Involvement South–East ), which is repositioning itself to operate more like a consultancy and brokerage service.

However, my main focus has been on preparations for Friday lunch-time's open public debate in Guildford about “Young People and Society”, for which we have commissioned the Community Film Unit, a social enterprise comprising former Surrey CC Future Jobs Fund trainees, to make a short film about the life experiences of some young people who had become marginalized.

The film is very powerful in conveying the depth of difficulty that some young people experience…including the young man who was kicked out of his family when aged 14. I link this to an article in Children and Young people Now about a young woman who was also homeless aged 14 and after years on streets, sofa surfing and in temporary accommodation has at last found a bed at Woking YMCA's new hostel for homeless young people. Youth homelessness in Surrey is a gap in the Surrey Joint Strategic Needs Analysis (JSNA) with health, and I am now just beginning to work on our Research Report that will cover this and doing so with the PCT.

It is stunning what incredibly tough lives some young people have, and who are, I fear growing in number.

Report on the debate next week.

Mike

Breakout

2011-10-14T01:19:00.000-07:00

Another fairly tense week with an underlying theme of the Transforming Local Infrastructure bid in progress, and discussions with the County Council starting about grant cutting for 2012/13, and the introduction of commissioning for 2013/14.

More positively we have got the papers out for our Trustees meeting next week, including the Annual Report and Accounts for last year, which we see as a key marketing document.

We have also been sending out floods of emails about our first “Young people and Society” open public debate in Guildford on Friday 21 October. Great meeting about this at Guildford College yesterday with the Interim Principal and the Student Union President who will be on the Panel for Friday. Hopefully the College will be able to film the event which would be brilliant. Talking of “society” …..interesting to hear this week from Sue Berelowitz, a former Surrey CC colleague and now Deputy Children’s Commissioner that "Right now thousands of children are being horrifically abused by gangs” . And then also this week the Care Quality Commission’s review of care for the elderly in 100 hospitals found “concerns” in 55/100, and downright illegal treatment in 20. What does that tell us about our society?

I was invited by the Chairman of the County Council to lunch at County Hall to hear a speech by Matthew Bowcock, chairman of the Community Foundation Network nationally. His theme is, like mine, that charities need to break out of the dependence on government grants and contracts and become more self funding. By contrast the closing date for the Surrey CC services for young people was 12 October, including the submission of individual contracts for the 31 youth centres…which transfers huge costs of time and effort to the bidders. Off now to a South East Youth Partnership (SEYP of which I am Chair) workshop on Commissioning with the Oftsted Inspector, Tony Gallagher, who wrote “An evaluation of approaches to commissioning young people’s services” . His report and my update on commissioning are on our website.

Good weather this weekend… We’re all Welsh now...grand-daughter now doing ok. Neglected Theology dissertation calls though!

Mike

Tensions

2011-10-07T05:39:00.000-07:00

A tense week with lots of work towards the Transforming Local Infrastructure bid which is going well and setting out proposals which, if accepted by all partners, would be genuinely transformative, recognizing the difficulties of overcoming our local prejudices in a two tier county. Politics, which is what this is the art of the possible and practicable, so the results may not be an Ideal, but will be transformative and progressive.

This morning has seen a parallel process with Surrey CC discussing with its beneficiaries how best to reduce its grants to the sector by up to 30%, and how to prepare on both sides, commissioner and contractor, for commissioning from 2013/14 onwards. All this being relevant to Surrey Youth Focus as an infrastructure organisation.

An underlying issue for the sector is to see beyond the binary relationship of central/local government as commissioner, and voluntary sector as contractor, to a wider triangulation that recognizes the contribution of corporates / social finance/ social philanthropy. I am being invited up to a Ministerial event later this month with a few others to discuss exactly this - more afterwards.

I have also been busy promoting our public debate in Guildford on 21 October at 1.00pm (see website) about Young people and society.

Part of my tension this week has been that I have become a grandfather for the third time, but the baby was early and weighs just 3lbs 3oz. She stopped breathing twice on Wednesday. It is amazing what the NHS can do in critical care. The baby seems ok now. More rugby ( England v. France tomorrow) and 10 friends to dinner – I am cooking as my wife has been pretty busy this week with other grandchildren. So I am hoping a difficult week will end with a jolly time…off to buy the wine!
Mike

Streams

2011-09-30T05:28:00.000-07:00

Interesting week – very important discussions on Tuesday morning between the County Council and infrastructure organizations – CVS, Surrey Community Action, ourselves and others, about funding for next year, and the Council’s intentions to move to a commissioning model from 2013/14, so 2012 becomes the preparatory “get your act together year”. This links to a parallel stream of work I have mentioned before, namely the sector’s own bid for the Transforming Local Infrastructure grant of potentially £600,000.

The good news is that the sector is moving quickly now to shape quite radical (though not new) proposals which have a chance of success because the £600,000 would ease the undoubted pain of transition.

However it will feel very different for the sector to become a contractor within a commissioning model, and there are in my mind two conditions which the sector has to address: first, that the infrastructure organizations have to become a consortium (like the Surrey Youth Consortium) to be able to bid against the likes of Capita and Serco, and secondly the sector has to see beyond just being commissioned to its wider role outside of being commissioned to assess need and to secure funding from social philanthropy and social finance.

Which brings me to the four social finance projects we’re trying to promote, and that HALOW had a really positive meeting with Surrey CC commissioners about moving out – county young people with disabilities into supported living in-county through HALOW’s work . It is a potential social finance loan if not a social impact bond. Very encouraging at last. We contributed to a Surrey’s Big Society report to the Surrey Strategic Partnership on Wednesday evening; interesting to note that West Sussex CC has already set up a fund to promote new social enterprises, as well as the same Big Society grants fund.

New Leader at Surrey CC with Dr Povey standing down and Cllr David Hodge taking over. My Chairman and I were due to meet David Hodge last week in his capacity as Cabinet member for Finance, but the meeting was cancelled because of these changes - we will rearrange! And my good colleague, Jean Roberts–Jones, CX of Surrey Community Action left yesterday to take up a new, and similar post in Eastleigh where she lives, and we wish her well.

The arrangements for the two public debates about “Young people and society “ – Guildford 21 October and Epsom 25 November are now in place and we are promoting widely, so that we can have a vibrant public discussion. No space to tell you about productive meetings with “Moo Moo Youth Marketing”(sic), or the Surrey 14-19 Partnership – more next week.

And finally England rugby continued to progress nicely against Rumania (ok their second team) but the game I have been apprehensive about is tomorrow 8.30 am ITV1 against Scotland. For the two of you not interested in the rugby, there is always a SCORCHIO week-end!!
Mike

Change

2011-09-22T01:36:00.000-07:00

A quiet week by my standards mostly organising the forthcoming public debates about “Young people and Society” to be held in Guildford on Friday 21 October from 1-3.00pm at St Saviours Church, and on Friday 25 November at the NESCOT college in Epsom also from 1.00 to 3.00pm. We have a panel of speakers and it should be an interesting public debate. One of the background factors about our society is reflected in the UNICEF report on children’s wellbeing, researching why UK children aged 9-13 are so unhappy compared to counterparts in Sweden and Spain, and this is on our website.

We have also put up on the website a superb report by New Philanthropy Capital on “Early Interventions: An economic approach to charitable giving” that assesses the economic savings from early interventions and encourages the social finance market to invest in this area. Whilst the case for early intervention has been known, and proven for over a decade, we have not taken it forward significantly because of the argument about double funding (maintaining existing services whilst also targeting high need families) and public authorities have typically not afforded it. The social finance argument removes this difficulty by using an alternative funding stream, but does still depend on public authorities being able to discern cost savings.

We had a really enjoyable team awayday on Tuesday planning our modest move into charging for some services on a consultancy basis as a way of moving towards our target of diversifying funding sources. This followed a half day training course on consultancy skills on a pro bono basis by a consultant. I think we all feel very energized by the prospect of what we intend to do …and we have an action plan. It was a really positive session.

Then we have the development of Surrey’s Transforming Local Infrastructure grant bid (£600,000) that has to be submitted by the end of October, and a consultation meeting about it today.

And the news on Twitter today is that the Leader of Surrey CC Dr Andrew Povey is standing down shortly …which might explain why the meeting my Chairman and I had carefully planned and prepared for with the Deputy Leader was cancelled a short notice……

I am off to Cornwall on Friday for a long week-end with that part of our family that includes the grandchildren so that their parents can go to a “no children” wedding in Cornwall on Saturday. Rugby ( England v. Rumania ) is at 6.00 am on Saturday morning, so it’ll be a long and exhausting day !

Maybe not such a quiet week after all!
Mike

Keys

2011-09-16T01:55:00.000-07:00

Well this has been an odd week for various (undisclosed ) reasons.

Moving quickly on – it was gratifying to receive high praise from our external examiner (auditor) on Tuesday for our Report and Accounts 2010/11 and be told we are a “very well managed charity”. Trustees and I realise that the Report and Accounts is a key marketing tool and opinion shaping device. I had a long conversation with a colleague Chief Executive about the possible application of social finance in his area, and it seems that whilst not a panacea there is a growing awareness of the potential of social finance. My grant bid to a GMT in this area has been acknowledged and is being assessed – fingers crossed.

The study visit by the DfE last week has led to some follow ups and this is really encouraging.

Surrey Sports Board (Wed) is now working on the implementation of strategy and I have convened a meeting of our members from the Sports sector next week so that we can share achievements and concerns and information about funding and other opportunities. This will build into the Research Report I’m writing as an influencing upwards report about the voluntary youth sector.

We have a Team awayday next week to plan our consultancy work and to address related matters in the business plan.

The public meetings about “Young People and society” to which we have invited MPs are now set up for 21 October in Guildford (St Saviours’s Church) and in Epsom (NESCOT) on 25 November – both are from 1.00pm – 3 pm. In this context it was interesting to skim read this week’s UNICEF report on Children’s Wellbeing (aged 8 to 13) focusing on UK children compared to those elsewhere in Spain and Sweden, and subtitled “The role of inequality and materialism”.

Which brings me quickly to the fact that on Saturday I’m going swimming with son and grandson, aged 3 (the UNICEF report emphasizes the importance of the extended family), and of course to Sunday at 7.00am ITV1 England v. Georgia …following the win against Argentina.

Enjoy your week- end!
Mike

Times

2011-09-09T02:30:00.000-07:00

A week when all around me seems to be changing.

I am part of the Surrey Transforming Local Infrastructure bid team which is being led by Surrey Community Action (generic infrastructure body), after a vote amongst the 43 organisations interested in the TLI in Surrey. We have a small bid writing team from 7 voluntary, community and faith sector infrastructure bodies. The bid will be for the £600,000, and must be evidence based and transformative. There are tensions in a two tier county between county-wide and local infrastructure bodies, to say nothing of specialist ones like Surrey Youth Focus. A great challenge, but also a great opportunity….we need to take it because expenditure cuts and commissioning will compel a more radical coming together in the VCFS ..or the death knell.

So the future in this sphere lies is in consortia where individual organizations – SCA, CVS, etc all retain their unique identity and independence, but agree to pool expertise to bid for large contracts.

Talking of which we had a very interesting study visit on Wednesday from the DfE and the OCS about the innovative work we’re doing in Surrey as between the commissioning role (Surrey CC’s Services for Young People), the Surrey Youth Consortium as a provider, and Surrey youth Focus in our enabling and brokering role. Our message to our Governemnt colleagues was that Surrey is being massively innovative and we should be tapped into more by Government. It was a useful meeting.

We are setting up two public meeting (in Guildford 21 October and Reigate / Redhill on 25 November) about “Young people and Society” from 1.15 – 3.15pm. to enable public discussion of recent issues.

I had a RAISE (Regional Action and Involvement South –East) Board meeting in the week – RAISE is re-organising and reshaping itself too, and being led superbly by its Chief Executive.

Am waiting to hear about success or otherwise of a grant bid to a Trust; this is an attritional process of bidding until successful.. bit like job applications.

And now for the important bit: England v, Argentina Sat 9.30 am ITV1 in the local pub..full English breakfast and pint of Guinness.. England win..happy days. There is no alternative, as a (in) famous lady once said!!

Have a triumphant weekend!
Mike

Vision

2011-08-26T06:44:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

The week has been dominated by the important discussions about who the agreed bidder might be for the Government’s Office of Civil Society funding of the “Transforming Local Infrastructure" grant. There has been a great deal of interest in this funding- potentially £600,000 for Surrey, BUT there can be only one lead bidder, and the content of the bid must be genuinely transformative of the sector. The upshot is that Surrey Community Action will lead a Surrey bid in collaboration with many others including the CVS network, Age UK and of course Surrey Youth Focus.

Having resolved who the ONE lead bidder will be, the next stage is discuss and agree the nature of the bid (by 31 October). The bid will need to meet the criteria set by the Lottery and reflect some shared vision about how the sector should transform, reduce costs, and improve services to the frontline. There is widespread agreement that there is duplication and possible cost saving, and it is essential to develop this belief into a shared vision of what an improved infrastructure network should look like (inevitably a hub and spoke in some form) and convert that vision into practicable projects. Quite a challenge, but a potential £600,000 is a very useful “carrot” to encourage change alongside the “stick” of cost cutting pressures we all face from reductions in grant income.

I have drafted the Annual Report for 2010/11 and this now goes off to our auditor to check before going to Trustees for approval. I find it hard to write retrospectively when the year has gone, and it is the here and now/future that is of greater concern. They are interlinked of course…I feel a TS Eliot poem coming on about “Time present is present…”

We have written formally to the eleven Surrey MPs, who are a very distinguished and influential group, inviting them to participate in two public debates about “Young people and society”. We have secured a bit of funding to make a short film using the Community Film Unit ( a social enterprise formed by successful Future Jobs Fund trainees) interviewing needy young people about their experiences leading up to their current predicament, and what if anything could have made a difference at a key point. The point of the debates is to flag up the achievements of young people, but also the increasingly severe challenges that young people face.

So a productive week!

A long weekend beckons...obviously the key is Ireland v. England rugby international, plus involvement in a local community arts festival , and re-starting my focus on the MA Theology and this academic year’s dissertation…Last Bank Holiday til Christmas….enjoy!!

Mike

Meteoric

2011-08-19T06:12:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I enjoyed my camping weekend in Dorset …lots of meteors in evidence, and seriously nice barbecue food …quail, black pig loin of pork (French pigs) and a bean/tomato/garlic sauce!! And of course, for someone born in Kent - Shepherd Neame Old Spitfire (beer).

But that was then, and this is now – it has been a busy week…I have agreed with my Chairman and the Chair of Surrey Youth Consortium to write to the Surrey MPs about the aftermath of the riots (outside Surrey, but close enough in Croydon) proposing two public debates which we will host in Guildford and Reigate/Redhill, about “Young people and Society” and inviting one or more MPs to participate in a panel discussion. We will be filming the experiences/views of young people (both needy and mainstream) as a prelude to the debate, and supplying some facts/figures about the achievements of amazing young people in Surrey .

There is a lot of interest in an Office of Civil Society/ Lottery Transforming Local Infrastructure grant, which is potentially £600,000 over 18 months, but for which only ONE organisation can bid…and there are potentially two bidders – Surrey Community Action, and Surrey Voluntary Action Network (the district/borough CVS) . If the Lottery receives more than one bid, they will bin the lot. At present it does not seem possible to agree on which should be the ONE lead, and so there is to be a vote amongst the 43 organisations who have expressed an interest in the Surrey TLI…..shades of Eurovision Song Contest, and a risk that a popular, but weak bid might win, but not be strong enough in competition with other counties. Key meeting next week. We are supporting the SCA bid.

I have also begun work on a new venture – a Research Report for the sector in 4 Parts – National picture (Government policies etc), Surrey trends, Views of member organizations about their Achievements and Concerns, and my Conclusions. Should be ready in mid Sept. Interesting to note that youth unemployment keeps going up nationally, and is now going up again in Surrey and I am hastily writing the Annual Report for 2010/11 in time for a sub – committee meeting of Trustees on 13 Sept.

So I’m back to severe busy-ness, but it’s a sunny week-end in prospect ..Test Match, but I have to clear out the shed. Hope you have more fun than me!!

Mike

Margins

2011-08-12T01:17:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone

Hope you’re still there after my two weeks in SW France, near Albi/ Toulouse. It was very relaxing and restorative, just what a holiday should be.

I returned on Monday to a massively fluctuating Stock Market and Bond market; UK manufacturing flatlined; a down -grading of the UK growth forecast; the shooting of Mark Duggan last Thursday, 4 Aug, and the riots and looting last weekend and in the early part of this week. Unremitting bad news. A spark of hope lies in the response of local communities in the “broom army” clearing up, and the massively dignified and significant appeal for calm by Mr. Taraq Jahan whose son was one of the three men knocked down and killed in the hit and run car attack.

Mercifully in Surrey we escaped all this, but it remains shocking, and challenging.

I have been focused on catching up on emails and the backlog, but had a great meeting on Thursday about devising a bid for a HUB, whereby in Stage 1, NEET young people would register on a website and we would then take control of their journey into a short course to raise self-esteem, confidence and skills, and thence into volunteering, training and employment. In Stage 2 of the project we want to enable young people to set up social enterprise/become self employed…and run the HUB as a social enterprise itself. This work is in collaboration with Surrey Care Trust and Surrey (Furniture) Re-use network- itself a social enterprise – and we are heading for a Reaching Communities bid.

I am totally convinced it is this sort of initiative that will make a difference to the lives of young people who may be at the margins of society. Part of my holiday reading was a brilliant book by Andrew Mawson called “Social Entrepreneur” – his story (see Google) is amazing and inspirational. Short version….things happen locally, organically (not through government) through brilliant, ordinary people…government should invest in what has been proven to work. Recommended reading.

And so I end on a positive….lots more to say next week: the newly published Oftsed review of commissioning in 12 areas including Surrey, the Transforming Local Infrastructure bid in Surrey, and so on.

I am off camping in Dorset this week-end with my three 30 –something sons, and 3 year old grandson…we will have serious fun!

Hope you do too.
Mike

Virtual Hub

2011-07-22T05:54:00.000-07:00

A quiet week by my standards with a focus on preparing papers for our Trustees meeting on Tuesday evening which went well, and we were delighted to welcome Nigel Biggs as a new independent Trustee (as opposed to a Member Trustee). His business expertise and links to the company and university sectors will be invaluable.

Met with the management team from NESCOT FE college on Wednesday to discuss close links and also the idea of a virtual hub whereby young people who are NEET can come into the hub to receive training to uplift their self-esteem, and be offered volunteering work and accredited training at a college , leading to a job. We see this Hub as a social enterprise.

I am Chairman of South-East Youth Partnership which as a network of senior local authority heads of youth services and voluntary sector youth organizations like ourselves. We had a very useful meting on Thursday sharing experiences, from which came concerns about: whether outcomes can be commissioned; variations in transferring buildings to the vol sector..Bucks CC are doing so on a 25 year lease(!) and closely related to this the (im)possibility of running a youth centre as a profitable social enterprise without a much broader level of activity going on; a worry that volunteering may dry up if seen as substitute cheap labour for a service that has been withdrawn, and so on.

Just a reminder that the DfE has its “Positive for Youth “ (embryonic White Paper) on their website with some 12 discussion papers.

My close colleague, Jean Roberts – Jones, Chief Exec. of Surrey Community Action has announced she is leaving to take up an equivalent post with Eastleigh CVS, just 2 miles from where she lives!

And finally…I am now on holiday for two weeks and will be back on the blog on Friday 12 August. Enjoy the summer! (weather permitting)

Mike

Old Models

2011-07-15T04:46:00.000-07:00

I went last night to the packed celebration evening at Denbies vineyard for the The Studio – ADHD centre. What was interesting was the view of a psychiatric consultant, and a research psychiatrist at Kings College London that the cause of ADHD is an imbalanced brain at birth, which is slowly changed through maturation during childhood and youth. However, during this process of maturation the young people have “Ferrrari brains” (top speed, maybe fragile) that is the cause of the high energy, often unsocial and inattentive behaviour. The stories of the achievements of the young people in being coached by Nancy Williams through this phase of their lives were great. We also heard the “other side of the story” from two long suffering but supportive parents of ADHD kids that were particularly moving. Interesting to note that the forthcoming Government Youth policy will include a section on brain development. Well done Nancy !

I led a business planning session on a consultancy basis yesterday morning; one organisation faces the ending of Surrey CC grant and the loss of its youth worker, as indeed we do unless I find replacement income for our youth development worker. The challenges are really severe. I was also at a Trustee Board meeting of a fairly large voluntary sector organisation where we were addressing the issue of how to change it, or close it, in the face of loss of grant income. “No change” was NOT an option, and we opted for a strategy of significant reorganization that will regrettably involve a loss of staff, and a complete re-engineering of the organisation.

Similarly, but separately, I was again asked about the Surrey CC Youth Service reorganisation on BBC Surrey Radio. This arose because of the prospect of a number of youth workers apparently being likely to lose their jobs. My perspective is simply that there are opportunities for the voluntary sector…

We now all work in what I call a chaotic environment (cuts, redundancies, reorganizations, mergers) where potentially old models of service delivery could be transformed by closer collaborative working between the statutory, voluntary and corporate/social philanthropic sectors. This requires leadership and a style of collaborative working that many organizations will find difficult…I was pleased to attend the first meeting of voluntary sector Chairs in Surrey , brought together by my Chairman and the Chairman of Surrey Community Action. My role was simply to take the notes. It was encouraging that the meeting took place.

It has been a busy week with two evening meetings (and a third church meeting at home), but a kind person with whom it is a joy to work has sent me some holiday reading – a book by Andrew Mawson called “The Social Entrepreneur”…and therein lies the clue for the future, in the week that the Government’s White paper on “Open Public Services” was published.

Have a thoughtful, and apparently very wet weekend - (Guilfest, British Open Polo finals at Cowdray Park )

Mike

Sunshine & Showers

2011-07-08T01:44:00.000-07:00

This has been a functional kind of week, writing reports for Trustees – Risk Register and so on.

But I had an interesting private meeting with a County Councillor to convey my views about how things are going which is…stickily, by which I mean the voluntary sector is under pressure financially and organisationally and the opportunities afforded by Localism, outsourcing and so on seem limited. Nevertheless, a well-informed colleague from a member organisation was expressing optimistic views to me about the opportunities for the voluntary sector from the current County Council youth work contracts, but I guess it depends if our member organizations do in fact win them - I am sure they’ll win some.

We are about to launch a marketing campaign to new member prospects using our very smart new folders into which to put material about who we are, what we do, our offer and the benefits accruing to members.

On Thursday evening I did some consultancy work with a brilliant member organisation – Guildford CHIPS – an Easter/ Summer play scheme in the high priority ward of Westborough. They have two successive “Outstanding” Oftsted reports. Interestingly, last year by this stage they had received bookings for over 300 day places from Social Services but to date they had just 2 referrals. Equally, they were finding that whereas last year parents were booking at a week or two at a time for their kids, now it was just one day or two - an interesting reflection on the impact of cuts and the recession. The challenge for CHIPS is that their Lottery funding expires next March…what to do was the issue.

I am walking 12 miles over the Sussex Downs (again) with my former Vicar who is walking the bounds from his current parish in Redhill to all his former parishes, so we’re walking from Midhurst to Chichester ..sunshine and heavy showers forecast ..which just about sums up where we are …mixed fortunes.

Enjoy what you do this week- end
Mike

Tea and Tennis

2011-07-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

Hi - This has not been an even remotely normal week….

My week began last Saturday when embarking on a 4 day dash to walk the South Downs Way from Buriton (nr Petersfield) to Beachy Head ( Eastbourne )- it’s about 80 miles. We cheated slightly and started at South Harting – only because of considerations of time and distance. My son and I had a really good first day – getting to Houghton Bridge nr Amberley and staying at a superb B&B.

The following morning we left at 8.30 am on Sunday morning as we had a long day’s walk (25 miles) and knew it was going to be hot. My son decided to leave his walking boots behind to lose weight, and to opt for walking in his specialist walking trainers. But the South Downs is very unforgiving chalk and flint…WE had a great day….very scorching hot…and got in at 7.45pm at Ditchling Beacon. We were both very tired (carrying rucksack too) …but Pete’s feet were badly blistered and he was limping badly …he concluded his trainers were too small. SO we couldn’t continue…

BUT on Tuesday I managed to get at returned ticket for the otherwise sold out performance by candlelight in Chichester Cathedral by “The Sixteen” – the choir conducted by Harry Christophers. I had a great aisle seat in the third row, and watched and listened in seventh heaven to the religious music of the Spanish 16th century composer Luis de Victorio, who was born in Avila…..same place as the great Spanish saint and mystic, Teresa of Avila. I had the CD already…big fan both of Victorio and The Sixteen.

Then on Wednesday, we went to the garden party at Buckingham Palace (as you do, but with3,000 others). The weather was perfect – the military bands played …the tea was very superior….the gardens - parkland and rose gardens - were beautiful, and in the distance was the Queen. It was a very elegant and enjoyable occasion. As was the dinner afterwards at our son’s restaurant….and was free!!

If I have to talk about work, I am delighted to say that Dr Beccy Bowden (Surrey Satro) has agreed to become a Trustee, and so with Beccy and Nigel Biggs in place on the Board we now have very good links to the business sector.

A quieter week- end is now in prospect. Anyone for tennis?
Mike

Roundabouts

2011-06-24T04:22:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I have just finished proof reading the next edition of Surrey Youth News (our 50th edition) and am stunned by the amazing amount of fund raising that is being done by our members.

Woking YMCA has just opened a new £2.6 mill 24 bed residential facility for vulnerable young people; Redhill Y have just raised £1 mill for their centre for disabled people, but also Halow, Disability Challengers , Matrix…the list is endless…and the energy, enterprise and courage of the walkers, cyclists, runners, abseilers is remarkable. Very inspiring.

I was at the Joint Cadets meeting on Monday evening, and am struck by the fact that there are some 2,000 Services cadets in the county, and by the dedication of the retired officers supporting them. Tuesday was the Surrey Community Action Annual Conference, at which I was running a workshop on Social Finance. This was closely followed by an 8.00 am breakfast event at Brooklands by Surrey SATRO and the Surrey Chamber for young people about opportunities in science and technology. That same evening was the Chairman of the County Council’s formal local government dinner…lots of interesting discussions.

SO….I have done a lot of listening and talking (“networking”) over the last few days, and I am clear that there are two forces at work pulling in different directions: we have the Big Society, the Localism Bill, the Giving White Paper and the forthcoming Civil Service White paper- all pushing in the direction of empowering individuals, families and communities. And yet we also have a political and managerial psychology that says “people can’t be trusted”, “the vol sector will mess it up – keep it in house”, and that control and cost saving is preferred to empowerment and local diversity…so for example Academies report directly to the Secretary of State for Education. The net result is that at present we are stuck in the “don’t know whether to centralize (save costs/ commission/ procure/ control) mode”, or let go…and decentralise. Some are reluctant to innovate and indeed to lead, and so there is a risk of organizational paralysis, risk aversion, and adherence to familiar (bureaucratic) processes.

Which brings me in a roundabout way to the increasing complexity of the current four youth service contracts, and, separately to the difficulty we’re having in getting Surrey CC to engage about its residential care costs for young adults with disabilities, which we think can be substantially reduced by one of our member organizations enabling those young people to be enabled to live independently in the county. A long arranged and key meeting was cancelled at nil notice. The contrast with my meeting last week with the social entrepreneurs prepared to invest in this project is just stunning. I wonder which of these countervailing forces will win out in the long run, both nationally and locally ?

I will ruminate further whilst spending the next four days (Sat- Tues) walking the South Downs Way with one of my sons (nearly 80 miles – Buriton, nr Petersfield to Beachy Head ). On Wednesday my wife and I are at a famous garden party in London , and then having dinner at another son’s restaurant (Magdalen, Tooley St.). Fashion, food, and gardening tips to follow next week!

Plenty of sun cream this week- end – have fun.
Mike

Reflections

2011-06-17T04:55:00.000-07:00

A reflection on the state of play in the week that has seen the rethink on the NHS…… I have had conversations with people from Common Purpose in London, Guildford Diocese, Community Foundation Surrey, Children England, a couple of social philanthropists, Surrey University, and others….I fear that at central and local government there are two tendencies at present: first an ambiguity about localism, decentralization and the Big Society when confronted with the realities of politics and the (apparent) need to retain control at the centre.

Second, in consequence, a fearful instinct to focus inwardly on an agenda of cuts, reorganization, and retaining control in the face of current expenditure cuts and, courtesy of the probability of Greece defaulting and contagion spreading to UK Gov and banks, a serious risk of more local cuts additional to those we already know about. Where are the leaders through this?

I am pleased to say that in Surrey, my Chairman and the Chair of Surrey Community Action have put forward a proposal to other leading Chairs in the sector to develop ways forward for the voluntary sector.

Encouragingly, I had a great meeting with one of our member organizations, Halow, and two social philanthropists about taking forward a particular proposal and I am convinced we can make this work. We had an Open Forum meeting on Tuesday evening at the BFree café in Leatherhead (a former church) when the key speaker was Wendy Varcoe from the Community Foundation, Surrey. The CF already gives some £600,000 in grants to voluntary organizations, and is a very significant local funder.

I am running a workshop at next Tuesday’s Surrey Community Action annual conference about social finance, and lest you should think I’m daft – did you see the headline this week? – “Social impact bonds will be worth tens of billions of pounds” Sir Ronald Cohen tells MPs”. Sir Ronald pretty much invented venture capital , and now is pushing social finance.. I rest my case!

The Department of Education officials writing the forthcoming White Paper on Youth are coming down to see us in September, as an example of an organisation doing interesting things, in conjunction with Surrey CC – we will be hosting the event. Good example of our advocacy and representation for the sector.

Personal: Off on Sunday to middle son’s flat in London for Sunday lunch (Father’s day ? Don’t recognize it – just a commercial contrivance) BUT as he is a professional chef/ patron of a successful restaurant in London, we will get a serious lunch…..after I have taken Matins for Trinity Sunday in a beautiful village church in West Sussex.

Enjoy the weekend,
Mike

Uplift

2011-06-10T01:41:00.000-07:00

Another really enjoyable and interesting week…and I get paid for doing this!

On Tuesday I was in London at an excellent NCVYS Youth Strategy Group at which there were presentations by senior people at the DfE about their forthcoming policy paper on Youth. I must confess I was not aware this was in progress, but a lot of work has been done already and published. Details are at: positivefor.youth@education.gsi.gov.uk. The second discussion subject was work on Social Finance by the Michael Young Foundation, indicating the scale of opportunity an interest in SF. The point is that whilst contractual arrangements will continue between the sector and local authorities (the binary arrangement) there also needs to be a triangulation with the SF sector. NCVYS to their great credit are setting up a retail fund derived from the Big Society Bank to enable youth projects to be financed. NCVYS are showing great leadership in the sector nationally.

I then went to a Community Foundation Surrey business planning awayday which was again fascinating and reinforced the messages from the Young Foundation. The Community Foundation already give £600,000 pa in grants to the sector in Surrey and have a target of getting to £1 mill grants in 2015, so I am delighted that we have their Chief Executive , Wendy Varcoe coming to our Open Forum next Tuesday evening (see website for details).

Yesterday morning I met with folks from Bourne CYI, a member organisation doing great work in the Farnham area, and we had a discussion about how they might come together with others to form a more consolidated offer to external social financiers. They are based at the very fine St Thomas Church in Farnham – an uplifting morning….

….Which continued with a detailed discussion with the County Council’s Garath Symonds about aspects of the current tender that are out. It presents opportunities and challenges for the Surrey Youth Consortium

We realized that Surrey Youth Focus, and Surrey CC are doing innovative work, so I am inviting the DfE civil servants down to a joint briefing session about our work.

Personal disclosure: Off to a Readers (lay preachers) Conference on Saturday, so my spiritual uplift will continue!

Enjoy whatever you do this week-end.
Mike

Strength in Numbers

2011-06-03T02:05:00.000-07:00

This has been a good week for Surrey Youth Focus.

I have said previously that we have set a deficit budget for this year drawing on our reserves, which is ok for now, but that we face challenges for 2012/13, for which we have a PLAN of action, this is now beginning to achieve results:

Cutting costs: we have cut costs by giving up one office, and consolidating in just one room, but the bonus is that our room is being redecorated…for a modest £25 investment in paint and the work of Surrey Community Action’s Future Job Fund trainee office handyman, who is great. Our very own Future Jobs Fund trainee, Sophie, has not only completed her one month’s training to become a Special Constable with the met Police, but she has also got herself a full time job as an office administrator for a company near where she lives. I think we can all take pride in her achievement and regret the demise of the Future Jobs Fund.

Fund-raising: largely through the efforts of our Chairman we have been given a generous grant this week by a Grant Making Trust fund that is a welcome contribution to our income for both this year and next, but we still need to do more, and have several irons in the fire.

Strengthening Trustee Board: we are delighted to have a new Trustee, who has a huge amount of experience in business, and has close links to corporates in Surrey and to Surrey University . I am constantly making the point that the old binary relationship between central/local government and the voluntary sector needs to be re- shaped into a triangulation with the business and social philanthropy sector, and this Trustee will help us do that.

Collaborative working: The Memorandum of Understanding between ourselves and Surrey Community Action was approved by their Trustees this week, and will go to our Trustees on 19 July. This effectively establishes a collaborative partnership between us as independent organizations, and again is the pattern for the future of umbrella (infrastructure bodies).

So it’s been a good week , and the sun is shining for the week-end!

Have fun!
Mike

Society

2011-05-26T02:51:00.000-07:00

Last Friday saw the launch of an important report- “Surrey’s Bigger Society” – on behalf of the Community Foundation, Surrey. The event was held at the Lightbox (civic museum) in Woking, and was by invitation. It was chaired by Mathew Bowcock in his capacity as a Chairman of the Community Foundation Network nationally.

The launch was preceded by a totally brilliant performance by young people from Peer Productions of an extract from their latest play about Alcohol. It took the form of a musical contrasting the perspective of doctors and nurses in dealing with the drunk and damaged, and those who started off wanting a “good night out”. The production, acting and singing were all terrific.

This then led into the launch of Helen’s report (following her previous “Hidden Surrey”). The new report emphasises the relevance of social finance and social enterprises. I was asked to give a short talk about our work on social finance projects with Surrey CC. Other speakers suggested that Surrey, of all places, is extremely well placed to take a lead in promoting social finance as there are so many people living in Surrey with the top level and financial skills, and indeed investment capacity. Lord Nat Wei was present, and I was able to have a chat with him, and others. The Chairman of the County Council, Lavinia Sealey was clearly impressed by all she had heard, and there was a collective sense of the need for a continuing dialogue between social philanthropists, the voluntary sector, and local authorities. It was an exciting time.

The sense of significant change has continued this week with a meeting of my chairman and that of Surrey Community Action to agree a Memorandum of Understanding about remaining independent but collaborating together, so, in effect forming a loose network together. I absolutely think this is the way forward for smaller organizations (and “organizations as networks” was the subject of my M.Phil. from back in 2000). This collaboration is leading to further thoughts about the leadership of the sector, about which more later….Exciting times!!

Personal disclosure: Yippee grandson for the week – end, such fun!! Manchester United to win on Saturday…hopefully!

Mike

Black Spot

2011-05-20T01:50:00.000-07:00

This has been a quiet week by my standards with the focus being on our funding campaign.

This has now commenced with letters and a Supporting Statement being sent out to various key people, and the start of preparation of the grant bids to go forward over the next few weeks. This is crucial to sustaining our capability in 2012/13. I am very conscious of the deadline of a Trustees meeting in January 2012 by when I need to have brought in funding, or risk being “passed the black spot”- note the oblique reference to “Pirates of the Caribbean ”!! We have a very clear funding strategy and it’s now just a matter of bashing on until we’re successful.

The Surrey Sports Strategy was launched at the Surrey Sports Board Conference at Kempton Park on Tuesday. I am a member of the Board. The Strategy is quite high level, but short, and the detail will be fleshed out by working groups. A copy is on our website. The London 2012 (Olympic) Games was much mentioned – there may be half a million spectators watching the cycling race through Surrey next year – a great marketing opportunity – 2,000 volunteers are needed on the day. It’s a great opportunity for uniformed organizations.

Delighted that Nick Wilson has been made Surrey CC’s Director of Children, Schools and Families Services.

I am off to Woking this afternoon for the launch of Dr. Helen Bowcock’s “Surrey's Bigger Society” report for the Community Foundation, Surrey . It is an important report – more on this next week.

Personal disclosure: A very quiet gardening weekend in prospect, but I have booked up the accommodation for my 80 miles in 4 days walk in late June on the (original) South Downs Way from Buriton, Nr Petersfield to Eastbourne, so the die is cast (not literally I hope!)

Enjoy what seems likely to be a sunny week-end!
Mike

Green shoots

2011-05-14T01:49:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Back to blogging after Bank Holiday leave and various events.

My Big Picture overview remains that there are two contradictory forces at work:the attrition in the voluntary sector caused by Government cuts, and yet the opportunities to be entrepreneurial in pursuit of “The Big Society”. At present I suggest that the former – attrition - is the more dominant force. To be explicit one sees it evident in the spate of closures and mergers nationally, and I try to persuade myself this Darwinian struggle is positive, and will result in a more self reliant, independent and robust sector (and nation). Interesting Cabinet leak to the effect that Francis Maude is cutting back on outsourcing to the private sector, and wants to give greater prominence to the vol sector. (See our e-bulletin)

Surrey Youth Focus is not immune from the changes- our costs are fixed (zero % pay rises for a 3rd year) but our income from grants and projects has fallen, so we have set a deficit budget for this year, like many others, and have to deploy our strong reserves – which his what they are for. However, we have now begun our funding campaign for 2012/13. We have also agreed at Chairman level, subject to Trustee approval, to have a formal collaborative agreement with Surrey Community Action.

There are other green shoots – I am delighted to be instrumental in setting up a social enterprise to provide employment for unemployed young people. The Community interest Company (CiC) is being formed now, and will start to trade in Quarter 4 this year - more later. We are progressing various social finance projects, and I do think that the way forward rests with social enterprises, and social finance as supplementary sources to the major contracts that are awarded. A time to tough it out!

I presented at a Surrey CC workshop at Denbies for our members given by Garath Symonds (Assistant Director Services for Young people). Cuts of £5 mill from a £16 mill budget must have some adverse consequences, BUT I do think that Garath has done well to mitigate the worst effects and to offer a reshaped service in which the voluntary sector has a considerable opportunity – to deliver wider services from the youth centres that are being opened up to the sector, and to be “on the menu” of the local prevention framework. Elsewhere we are having discussions with Surrey CC about how to increase volunteering, and I am talking to the Chamber of Commerce about other links. I attended a Surrey CC 14-19 Partnership Group yesterday, about the FE sector, which is badly affected by grant cuts and the loss of EMA to young people, and yet the performance of young people is still doing well.

Personal disclosure: completed year 2 assignments of MA Theology (just dissertation left for next academic year) and have read my first novel for a year, as opposed to a theology book. Am singing in Chichester Cathedral on Saturday – massed church choirs! FA Cup Final week –end too. Need to get fitter for speed walk with son in late June on the South Downs Way (80 miles for us).

Have fun,
Mike

Elements

2011-04-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

A week that has flashed by, and a worry about how to get things done in April when there are so many Bank Holidays and leave taking, including by me, and we have a Trustees/ Directors meeting on 3 May…I know, plan ahead/time management!

The week began with the Guildford Diocese’s South East Faith Forum on the subject of the Big Society . This included a quite brilliant speech by Rev. Dr Malcolm Brown (CoE Mission and Partnerships Adviser). He put the BS into a historical context: Jeremy Bentham talking about a society of strangers in the 19thC, and hence the need for State intervention, contrasted with Figgis (1910) writing about society as “a community of communities” smaller than the State but larger than mere individuals and families, and so needing intermediary bodies – churches, trade unions, and universities to sustain and nurture them . He also mentioned Phillip Blondel the political thinker behind Cameron on the BS.

As practical examples of the outworking of the vol. sector trying to progress elements of the Big Society, I had a meeting on Thursday with Adult Care service commissioners with our member organisation, Halow about moving a small group of young people out of expensive out county residential care into independent living. Detailed work is now to be done on the costs Surrey CC is incurring from current placements and then to see if there is scope for an initiative funded by social finance. In the afternoon, I had a brilliant meeting about the setting up of the social enterprise to provide employment for young people, which is now going ahead and the company (a CiC) being set up. Massively positive, albeit small scale, and an interesting test bed.

Then today a Keeping in Touch meeting with Surrey CC’s Head of Service for Young People, which was also positive for the sector.

Personal: Up to London this week end to have dinner out with youngest son, and then to support middle son in running the London Marathon. He wants to get in under 4 hours, and has raised £3,500 for a charity supporting children in India (the railway Children) who sleep on the rail tracks.

Keep fit!
Mike

Triangles

2011-04-08T03:44:00.000-07:00

We had possibly the best ever Celebration of Youth last Saturday evening at an excellent venue - Jubilee High School, Addlestone which has its own theatre. We had a distinguished audience of guests - the Lord Lieutenant, the High Sheriff(s), the Chairman and the Chief Executive of Surrey CC and 9 out of the eleven “Mayors and Chairs” and we had a good audience of parents and friends supporting some great performances by young people, and with loads of exhibition stands. We printed 200 programmes which were all used up. There are pictures of the event on our website and Facebook.

In different vein, I met up with the Head of Youth Services for West Sussex CC on Monday evening and she explained that her restructuring had resulted in some 87 redundancies…so this is a tough time for youth workers everywhere.

On Tuesday evening, I met with our members from our uniformed organisations; amazingly the Girl Guides in Surrey East have a waiting list of 450 young people to join the Guides- the impediment is the lack of volunteer leaders.

I co-presented with the Head of Surrey Youth Service at an important meeting with those of our member organisations working with young offenders about the possibility of deploying social finance (ie from corporates or social philanthropists), recognising that there is a minus 30% in public expenditure and likely to be ever increasing challenges for young people. I confess to being a keen advocate of social finance, and of what I call a new “triangular model “ or relationships between the public sector – voluntary sector – corporates/social philanthropy. The experts on this are the charity called Social Finance, but I have about 20 papers on the subject which will go up on our website in a week or two. It was a good first meeting and the agreement was to meet a second time once work has taken place outside the meeting.

I am gradually clearing my decks of completed projects so that I can concentrate on the key task, as for everyone else in the VCFS, of getting in income for 2012/13, but meanwhile, I’m taking the afternoon off to enjoy (and work in) the garden!

Enjoy a beautiful week-end!
Mike

Lessons

2011-04-01T08:07:00.000-07:00

Really interesting if demanding week….

Last Sunday I did the “Y toY” 26 mile marathon charity walk from Guildford Y to RedhillY, in aid of the work of Redhill Y with children and young people with disabilities. We started at 9.00 am and got in at 6.30 pm which is pretty good going, though the CEO of RedhillY ran it in 4.5 hours! I did not have any blisters or aches, and raised £450 so was pleased, - a big thank you to my sponsors.

I then met up with the County Council’s Head for Services to Young People at 8.30 am on Monday morning for a private chat, which has to be...private.

I went to the induction session for the new Lord Lieutenant’s cadets, both civil and military on Tuesday evening at County Hall, and was struck by the maturity and assurance of these young people, aged 16-18.

Our incorporation as a company has come through this week in the nick of time for our intended 1 April start, so having both this and our Pqasso award we are well placed to present ourselves as a well organized charity that is focused on Innovation and Impact in 2011/12.

I went to a late afternoon NCVYS session in London on leadership featuring Charlie Mayfield, the CEO of the John Lewis Partnership. He gave a very interesting talk. Famously the JLP is a mutual founded some 75 years ago and owned by the 75,000 staff.
There were some key learning points:

The importance of values in setting culture
That culture was about staff (“partner” in JLP terms) Rights –to information, accountability of managers, transparency, and Responsibility – meaning constant self criticism and improvement
Famously all “partners” benefit from the company profits, and all got 18% this year…..from top to bottom
Pay is set (in the original Trust documents) so that the maximum the CEO can get is 75 times that of the lowest pay grade

Lots of lessons for banks. I was very impressed by his matter of fact style, and lack of bravado.

In different vein, there have been several useful reports from New Philanthropy Capital recently which we’ll put up on our website next week, including one on Preparing for Cuts, which we discussed at yesterday’s Community Foundation, Surrey policy committee. I am constantly arguing that there needs to be a “new settlement” which sees a close triangular relationship between: Central and local government – the voluntary sector- corporates/ social finance/ philanthropists.

And tomorrow, Saturday, is our Celebration of Youth and Volunteering, so more about that next week.

Mike

Spring Progress

2011-03-25T02:17:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

What great weather this week, and I am looking forward to my personal challenge of doing the YtoY Marathon (26 mile) charity walk on Sunday, in aid of the disabled children with whom Redhill Y do great work.

If you’d like to sponsor me please submit any amount to: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MikeAbbot. All the money raised will go to the YMCA.

I ran a business planning session last (Wednesday) evening for a charity that does great work in running an Easter and Summer playscheme for children in a high need ward. They have over 1,000 children through the door, and charge just £7 a day , and therein lies the problem for when their Lottery funding ends. They also get “perfect scores” in their Oftsted inspection. Just another example of great voluntary sector work with a mix of paid and voluntary staff, and trustees.

I had a progress meeting today about the social finance projects we’re working on, and also to shape the session on the potential for social finance to support a project on reducing the risk of offending, and re-offending. Tomorrow, Friday, I am at a conference down in Sussex, my home patch, for the students on the CWDC funded apprenticeships, foundation degree and MA when I am presenting on …Social enterprises and social finance! There is no escape from social finance at present!

Personal: We don’t talk about England rugby now…the focus is more on the availablity of Compeed for potentially blistered feet this weekend ..and then on Saturday 2 April we have the wonderful Celebration of Youth and Volunteering event to which all are welcome as an audience . The acts and market stalls are fully booked now – do come. Details on website ..but please tell Kate Peters if you’re coming to watch.

Enjoy a sunny weekend!
Mike

Potential

2011-03-18T04:17:00.000-07:00

A very busy and interesting week.

Today I’m running a CPD session for the MA Youth and Community students funded by the CWDC. They are a great group to work with, and I hope to provide some “after care” as this very valuable funding stream now comes to an end. I was on leave on Wednesday, catching up with my MA (Theology). So the week has sped by.

I want to concentrate on the workshop in London yesterday (Thurs) about Social Finance. This was one of three such workshops run by the national experts – Social Finance, and The Young Foundation. Each one was evidently attended by about 150 people, and were sold out immediately. It’s true they were free, but there is a massive interest in social impact bonds nationally. The London event was attended by funders - social entrepreneurs(Sir Ronald Cohen), bankers and equity fund managers, commissioners – from central, not local government interestingly, and the voluntary sector. So who doesn’t get it?

The Ministry of Justice and Social Finance gave detailed briefings on the Peterborough prison sib (3,000 prisoners, £5 mill of support to them, and an analysis over six years of the impact of the sustained pre and post release support to the prisoners with the aim of reducing re- offending rates (65% reoffend within one year currently).

There was much talk of scaling up pilot projects once it was known “what works”. There is Big Lottery and social investment fund interest in this. The significant change is to “payment by results”, in other words to outcome based commissioning and delivery that is shown to make a difference.

My abiding impression is that there is a potentially huge amount of capital out there to invest in social projects that will make a proven difference. It is easy to be cynical about corporate social responsibility, but I detect a sea change.

Personal disclosure: Did a 21 mile South Downs walk last Saturday in “benchmark time” of 7.5 hours in preparation for my Y to Y Charity Marathon (26 mile) Walk on Sunday 27 March. The finds raised will go to Redhill YMCA for their project of working with disabled young people. You can sponsor me on http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MikeAbbot

Thank you!

Enjoy the week- end! Saturday 5.00pm. -The last match.
Mike

Snags

2011-03-11T12:56:00.000-08:00

The week has been dominated by a final trip to the Brighton Consortium steering group that successfully bid for some £400,00 of CWDC funding to enable youth workers to attend three programmes : an Apprenticeship, a Foundation degree and an MA course . Some 60 young people have been through the programmes and so we have felt pleased with our efforts, although our satisfaction this has been tainted by recent stories of young people in each category losing their jobs.

I also went to a RAISE (Regional Action and Involvement South East ) Board meeting and strategy day over two days where there was a shared experience amongst the voluntary sector representatives of setting deficit budgets, and yet seeking to re-frame new opportunities. The snag is that everyone is doing the same things.

For the rest of the week it has been “just ordinary”, though I have received an invitation to a (Archbishop)Tutu Foundation event soon in London to be attended by the great man whose infectious laugh is unforgettable.

Personal disclosure: Saturday – 20 mile South Downs walk in preparation for 26 mile Y to Y Charity Marathon walk on 27 March - see my Just Giving site at: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MikeAbbot Please DONATE to good cause – Redhill YMCA ‘s work with disabled young people. And then Sunday: Twickenham – Scotland !!

Trivial Pursuits: Next week: run out of time!”

Mike

Social Accounting

2011-03-04T10:50:00.000-08:00

Really interesting week in which the social finance work has progressed, with a lot of interest in a joint meeting between the Youth Justice Board and our member organizations aimed at reducing offending / re-offending. Timely, as Barnados have just released a report pointing to the cost to society of a young offender having to go into care (£115,000 over 3 years). Great phone call and meeting with Ruth from Jobmatch (matching offenders to jobs) – it’s not rocket science – folk need a job and housing on release, otherwise how long can you make the prison leaver’s £40 quid last?

Really positive meeting last evening with some philanthropists advising on how we might access funding for a particular social impact bond project.

Attended a Social accounting/ Social Return on Investment course on Wednesday and was pleased to realise that we are in practice well advanced with social accounting, if not SRoI.

Last Friday evening I went to the Surrey Business Awards celebration dinner (think Oscars) and it was really instructive how many businesses are involved in their communities. So it is timely that we are soft launching our doyouthwork.com website this month, and I have given a copy of a job profile for a volunteer, Volunteer Broker to a visitor today from Proctor and Gamble, and also sent it to Business in the Community with whom I made links some months back.

Personal disclosure: On Sunday 27 March I could be in my church, OR at an Elmbridge multi- faith event to which I have been invited , OR at a charity lunch at Magdalen, Tooley St. London (middle son’s restaurant) as he is fund raising a minimum of £2,500 for his London Marathon run in aid of The Railway Children (of India) BUT I am in fact doing a 26 mile charity walk for Redhill YMCA (Yto Y walk) . Be warned …I too am looking for sponsors!!

Trivial pursuit:
a) Last week’s answer: There isn’t a marathon walk in the Olympics, but the closest is a 50 K road walk (31 miles) in…..3 hrs 34 mins. !! Ouch!
b) This week’s question: As the Olympic cycle race is going through Surrey in 2012, what is the Olympic record?

Best wishes
Mike

Blank

2011-02-25T05:41:00.000-08:00

Bit of a roller coaster week with ups and downs.

I met with the Chief Executive of Surrey CC on Monday morning about the social finance proposals generated by colleagues, and about which two secondees from SCC have been working to assist us. David McNulty had some questions and challenges, but we agreed to go forward with all the projects, which is encouraging.

That same afternoon there was a meeting of the various umbrella support service organizations in Surrey – SCA, CVs and us, with Susie Kemp the ACX from the County Council. The core issue is what organisation structure for support services to the voluntary sector in Surrey would you put in place if designing with the a blank sheet of paper? The answer is NOT the current structure. So there will be a workshop with a blank sheet of paper, minus 30% funding and a facilitator to guide us through a process. This will be a challenge for SYF, but also an opportunity.

Met with the Surrey Youth Crime Prevention Group colleagues to receive a concluding report on the value of the PAYP and YoF funded projects. Short version is that crime and NEETs do seem to have gone down in the areas where investment and projects have taken place.

I have drafted an end of year, looking back/ looking forward letter to our Patrons to go out next week. I am highlighting our good work, but the (terminal) financial challenge for 2012/13, unless we raise income successfully in 2011.

Visited a new member organisation- the Amber Foundation – that has a beautiful residential establishment just south of Ockley where they provide accommodation for homeless and unemployed young people who may also have an offending background. Brilliant work …and a 9% re-offending rate compared to a national rate of about 75% + . Also had a great chat with a youth worker wanting to set up a social enterprise…it is the way to go, for some.

I’m at the Toast of Surrey Business Awards dinner this evening (thank you SATRO)

Personal disclosure: Sat. 5.00pm Twickenham- Les Bleus!
Knocked out a 10 mile walk in the cold, rain and mist on the South Downs last Saturday in exactly 3 hours, my benchmark time. Preparing for the charity 26 mile marathon walk on 27 March.

Trivial pursuits:
a) Last week’s answer; The single alternative vote is best described at the BBC News / Politics / Alternative Vote/ Q&A web page
b) This week’s question: What is the record time for an Olympic marathon walk (26 miles)?

Have a restorative week – end – getting lighter, and enjoy the ( England ) rugby!
Mike

Valuing & Valued

2011-02-18T07:16:00.000-08:00

I went to Duke of Edinburgh Award presentation for Elmbridge last night – 323 young people received awards – which is a great testimony to the continued regard with which the DoE scheme is held, to its supporters, and to the young people.

Earlier on Thursday, I had been up to London for a workshop on the “Valuing Infrastructure Programme” about how to measure the impact of support service organizations like us; it was very helpful indeed, but slightly scary to hear about the extent of cuts to CVS all round the country and to national bodies. One of the key learning points was about recognising the different membership market segments, and communicating to them differently in consequence.   I am at another evening event tonight to celebrate links between schools and employers-corporates. My interest on behalf of SYF is in making links to employers. I met with the Chairman, Emma Potter and the new Chief Executive of Surrey Clubs for Young People, Joyce Quinnell, on Monday and have established a better understanding of each of our purposes and plans, which should lead to mutual benefit.

On the downside we have had to cancel the Faiths in Action event on 23 Feb as we only had 6 people booked in, despite great effort on our part.

Youth unemployment is in the national news again, but in Surrey it is still falling, with 2,890 young people 16-24 claiming JSA in December. However I suspect that this may prove to be the bottom of the curve.

Next week is the start of a cluster of meetings about social finance and social impact bonds.

Personal Disclosure: Off to do a little 10 mile in 3 hours walk on the Sussex Downs this week- end, being my training for the YMCA Charity Y to Y Marathon walk on Sunday 27 March. If you want to know how to get fit/ address diet issues go to www.ooberfit.org.uk where all is explained. Delighted that Mumford and Sons got the Brit Awards for the Best Album – remember where you saw them recommended first! (Here).

Trivial Pursuit:
a)      Last week’s answer: New research at Cambridge University shows that fleas can jump 200 times their height, but it is still not known how they achieve this- I thought you’d want to know this!
b)     This week’s question: Do you understand the Alternative Vote system?

Have an enjoyable week- end!
Mike

Curves & Learning

2011-02-11T05:54:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

A tiring week, with three late nights and one very early start. The impact of cuts nationally is becoming clearer – definitely a time to hold one’s nerve.

That was the theme of a RAISE board meeting in London on Tuesday, followed by my own Trustees meeting that evening. My Trustees approved our business plan and budget for next year, and I am delighted we have a clear sense of direction. We know what we have to do to deliver and fund our services.

Interesting grant review visit last night for the Community Foundation, Surrey to an independent, residential special school for young people with speech and learning impairments. Amazingly the parents have to spend an average of £20,000 to battle through the appeals and litigation process to get their children to this school. The work of the school was very impressive indeed, and the young people seemed very busy and happy, which was heartwarming.

On the downside, we have not had much interest in Faiths in Action event we are to hold on 23 Feb and I will probably have to cancel it. Some learning for me there. And a meeting about social impact bonds with the Chief Executive of Surrey CC had to be postponed for 10 days or so.

On the upside I see that a great chunk of Surrey is included as the route for the Olympic Games road cycling race - see www.surrey2012.info. That will be a fun day out. I also see that the number of people required to go through the safeguarding requirements is to be reduced to a more realistic level (from 11 mill people to around 4mill).

I attended a breakfast meeting with Michael Gove and others this morning which was very interesting and useful.

Personal disclosure: And England beat Wales in Cardiff last Friday - Italy tomorrow!

Trivial Pursuit:
a) Last week’s answer – England ’s record try scorer, by miles, was Rory Underwood
b) This week’s topical question – how far can a flea jump in relation to its size?

Enjoy the week- end..it’s getting lighter!
Mike

Direction

2011-02-04T06:26:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

I am beginning to see my way through the wintry fog at last.

We had a really helpful sub committee of Trustees meeting early in the week, about the Business Plan and Budget for 2011/12 and have a clear direction to recommend to the main meeting of Trustees next week. It feels to me as a dinghy sailor like a trimming of sails to face the tough wind, but I am sure Surrey Youth Focus will develop further. For example our membership is going up again, and we are nearly at exactly 80. I have been busy drafting the Business Plan and other reports for Trustees.

Also busy promoting our multifaith Faiths in Action event for young people and adults about topical faith issues – on 23 Feb – details on our website, and being advertised on Eagle Radio.

It is great having two Surrey CC secondees to work with me on the social finance front, helping our member organizations to develop projects and at the same time to enable County Council managers to identify the unit costs of their corresponding services. This is tricky work both in content and in office politics. The work is preparatory to my meeting with David McNulty (Surrey CC CX) next week when we’ll be setting out the areas of possible projects that will achieve cost savings/benefits, but need external funding.

I am in close touch with colleagues at the Community Foundation, Surrey and attended a photographic exhibition in Guildford cathedral of the schemes they have supported that was preceded by choral Evensong. Both the Evensong and the exhibition were very inspiring. Social finance – that is the contribution of the corporate sector - is going to be crucial in filling the gap caused by the decline in government spending. I note the media headline of Surrey CC losing 650 jobs over the next 4 years, which is not as bad as some places – Hampshire 1,200, and CABs in Birmingham being closed, but is always tough. I do discern a growing objection in some quarters to The Big Society; my own view is entirely pragmatic – there will be a gap and the voluntary sector is well placed to fill it.

Personal disclosure: I’ll be glued to the TV this evening watching Wales v England (rugby, obviously). I stand in front of the TV for the first 10 minute or so until know the lads have settled down…it does help you know …telepathy to Cardiff….my wife leaves the room!

Trivial pursuit:
a) Last week’s answer: Rupert Murdoch was cheesed off last week because the News of the World phone tapping scandal looks likely to scupper his bid to takeover all of BSKyB.
b) This week: Who has scored the most tries ever playing for England (rugby, obviously) in a single game and in total ?

Enjoy the matches!
Mike

Double Devolution

2011-01-28T05:10:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Another tough week in terms of busyness, and pressures, but I think everyone I know in the voluntary sector is in the same boat.

I attended an excellent Business Skills course on Monday for Surrey Youth Focus members, run by Proctor and Gamble at their very smart training centre in Weybridge. The presentations were very good, and to my mind two were outstanding. There was lots of good advice and challenges for me to think about. I think another course may be run – covered marketing, communications, and social media. The key learning point for me was just how customer focused P&G are; whilst we are not selling shampoo, we are also in a people business, and I need to work out how to make the time to get closer to our members.

Talking of which, I ran the second business planning session with one of our member organizations yesterday evening – the Barn Youth Project, Park Barn, Guildford do outstanding work.

Voluntary sector chief execs met with the Leader of Surrey CC, Andrew Povey on Monday about issues between the sectors; I pitched my favourite subject of social impact bonds and the particular proposal we are putting forward to a meeting with the Council’s Chief Executive David McNulty on 9 Feb.

Interesting to see increasing media questioning of whether “The Big Society” is deliverable – this was even the subject of a Times leader this week. My own view is that it will be a close run thing between the atrophying of the voluntary sector as a result of the cuts – I see for example that Vinvolve are closing down at the end of March – and taking the opportunities under The Big Society. For example Surrey CC’s Assistant Chief Executive explained to the Surrey Community Action meeting on Tuesday evening that the Council are now offering up the 11 least used libraries to be run by local communities.

It is easy to be cynical about double devolution (from central to local government, and on to the voluntary sector ) but the alternative may be that services are closed altogether. I hope the voluntary, community and faith sector will take up the opportunities offered, and innovate out of the mess UK PLC finds itself in. Crucial in all this will be the willingness of the corporate sector to invest in social projects during these years when government funding is in decline or moribund.

Personal disclosure/ parental pride: One of my sons is running in the London Marathon (and hosting a charity lunch at his restaurant in London) for a charity called The Railway Children being for destitute children in India who live on the railway tracks as he saw to his shock when he travelled round India for two months a couple of years ago.

Trivial pursuits:
a)       Answer: Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper are indeed the first husband and wife team in a (Shadow) Cabinet.
b)       Question: Why is Rupert Murdoch so angry this week?

Enjoy the weekend
Mike

Engagement

2011-01-21T06:12:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone

It is very evident to me that there is a strategic need to engage very closely with potential corporate funders, and build that relationship.

This was in part the theme of RAISE network meeting in London on Thursday with presentations by the CEO of NAVCA, (Kevin Curly) and by the inspiring CEO of The Big Society Network and The Square Mile (Paul Twivy) . The latter being particularly interesting.

All the reports/ presentations mentioned here will be on our website next week (on Monday/Tuesday).

And finally I can’t forget that there are now 950,000 young people unemployed, though surprisingly the number in Surrey is still going down (as at December 2010), and that the education maintenance allowance is to be abolished, which will I think have a very adverse effect on continuing education of 16-19 year olds from low income families.

Don’t forget to book into our Faiths in Action conference for young people on 23 Feb – see website.

Personal disclosure:   As I was berating Goldman Sachs for its average salary/ bonus of £230,000 I learnt today that they have just given a decent sum to one of our member organisations. Two sides to every coin.

Trivial Pursuit:
1)       Last weeks answer: Wikipedia is now 10 years old.
2)       This week’s question : Has there ever been husband and wife team in Cabinet or Shadow cabinet before ? (ie like Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper) ?

Enjoy the weekend
Mike

Pace, faith & future

2011-01-14T08:28:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

I attended the funeral of Patience, Lady Baden- Powell on Monday at a packed church in Albury her village. She was our President and a very special lady who managed to reconcile a long colonial experience, love of tradition and faith with complete modernity especially regarding young people. It was a very positive celebration of a full life of service. She will be much missed.

Well the Year has started at a fast pace, and everyone I talk to in the voluntary sector seems to be setting a deficit budget for 2011/12, unless they have fixed contracts, and there are widespread concerns.

BUT there are opportunities……

I am delighted that Surrey CC have seconded two people to us from their Policy Team – Saba Hussain and Ben Skipp to work with us and member organizations in developing project proposals for social impact bonds. I am meeting the Chief Executive of Surrey CC about these on 9 February…there are stacks of really good ideas around and I want to suggest to David McNulty that we set up an Innovations Group (Police, PCT, Surrey CC , voluntary, community and faith sector ) to open up a channel of communication about possible projects, and then discern whether or not they are runners. For example, I had a meeting on Tuesday with a PCT colleague about the need to develop parenting skills OF teenage parents and of parents WITH teenagers…there being little support for either group, and secondly developing a peer mentoring scheme for mainstream young people who become at risk because of some “critical life episode “ – bereavement, family breakdown, parent’s loss of job etc. Useful website on this is www.c4eo.org

There is also an interesting government website (central and local) that has been drawn to my attention assisting public authorities in making spin off services ( co-operatives, mutuals, social enterprises) and with the prospect of Big Bank funding. Their recently announced focus is on….youth services. The site is www.localpartnerships.org.

I have been lobbying Reigate and Banstead Borough Council in support of the Scots about the closure of the swimming pool at Banstead.

We have an Interfaith event for young people (free) on 23 February in Leatherhead – booking details on website – with food and entertainments. Funded by a Faiths in Action grant.

Yesterday, I ran a business planning session with the Trustees of the Park Barn Youth project to develop their future direction. One full time youth worker and a part – timer do fantastic work – they have 250 young people on their books and regularly have 50 young people to their sessions. Voluntary organizations just do amazing work!

Personal disclosure: I have banged in my third set of assignments for my part/time MA Theology, so I’m feeling…virtuous… won’t last long..

Trivial pursuits:
a) Last week: About the cricket records in winning the Test Matches in Australia …. too many to mention so here is a link - www.birminghampost.net/...birmingham.../the-ashes-the-records-that-fell-and -the-milestones-passed-65233-27948627/

b) This week: Which famous website celebrates its 10th anniversary next week? (not ours by the way!)

Enjoy the week-end
Mike

Challenges

2011-01-07T10:14:00.000-08:00

Blog 1/2011

Hi everyone,

Best wishes for the New Year…which will be a challenge.

I am tempted to say that the key to success will be sleep, for I know that a lot of people are already, and will be, working very hard during this year to sustain their services as “the age of austerity” falls upon us.

The County Council’s reorganization of its Youth Development Service was approved by its Cabinet on 21 December, and now moves to an implementation stage, where the devil will be in the detail. We are losing funding from Surrey County Council for Surrey Youth News in 2011/12, as part of their cuts package, but we will definitely be continuing with Surrey youth News regardless, by finding other sponsors, or at the least by producing SYN in electronic form.

In Surrey Youth Focus we are already doing a lot to address the core issue of funding and to refashion ourselves. The new Business Plan will go to Trustees on 8 February unveiling that strategy. This will include being far more explicit about the support services we offer to members.

I am delighted that two staff from Surrey County Council (Saba Hussein and Ben Skipp) are being seconded to us to work part time on several projects, but principally on the development of social impact bond projects (see website) from our members, and then assessing the implications for Surrey CC.

I keep saying that the only way that services to young people will be maintained will be through innovation and collaboration, so this secondment initiative is very welcome.

We have a Faiths in Action event on 23 February for young people and adults(see website), and I met with the Chief Executive of the London based Desmond Tutu Foundation who do great reconciliation work with young people – for example with young people in gangs. They will hopefully become members of ours as they extend services into Surrey .

Personal disclosure: Had a Boxing Day visit to a very cold Wembley Stadium on Boxing Day, despite the tube strike, to watch a rugby match with one of my sons –my team (Wasps) lost!

Trivial pursuit: Has to be about the glory of winning the Ashes in Australia …..what records did the England Team break on this tour?

Enjoy the weekend!
Mike

Changes

2010-12-17T08:51:00.000-08:00

The “new realism” I referred to last week has continued into this week. A draft budget was approved by a sub group of our Trustees and will go forward to the full Trustees on 8 February. It is a deficit budget, proposing that we draw heavily on reserves. We know this is unsustainable and so have strategy for the future……which I’m not disclosing! Many voluntary organizations will be in the same position.

The calendar year 2011 will be a crucial one for voluntary organizations providing support services in Surrey, for whilst Surrey CC is helpfully maintaining its core funding in 2011/12, there will be a reduction of 30-35% in 2012/13, and so we have to take on this challenge to regain revenue, and/or reduce costs.

However, we will be positive about what we have to do, not least in focusing tightly on what our members want. The good news from our members ‘satisfaction survey is that 93% of respondents are either very satisfied or satisfied with our services. This survey gives us a bench mark from which to improve further.

And this brings me too to the Surrey County Council’s Public Value Review of its Services for Young People, which is going to their Cabinet for approval on 21 December, and about which I am on BBC Radio Surrey at 8.00 am on Monday morning. A pithy summary is that it is proposed to:

move to an outcomes based commissioning model based on an assessment of needs,
transfer the management of the 35 youth centres to the voluntary sector so that use of the buildings can be enhanced by the voluntary sector bringing in extra services
decentralize some £2.5mill budget funding to the eleven County Council Local Committees, so that they can commission what is needed locally
move the flagship Outdoor learning Centre to an arm’s length trading unit and eventually to become a social enterprise basis.

My view is that these are mostly fairly bold but desirable changes, consistent with the emphasis on Decentralisation and Localism reflected in the Government’s important Bill of this name published this week. The move to a commissioning model is not unusual, but it will be a challenge to define outcomes in a credible way.

Turning to other matters we are running a one day Faiths in Action workshop on Wednesday 23 February so that young people and adults of different faiths can talk about what their faith means to them. Details are on our website and a booking form will be available in the first week of January.

This is my last day at work until 4 January ….I have to write two long essays over Christmas for my MA Theology, so apart from the usual Christmas family events, carols, and friendship I will be busy typing away in the university library …but in truth I enjoy it hugely!

Have relaxing and enjoyable Christmas and New Year

Mike

Cuts

2010-12-10T06:29:00.000-08:00

I fear this has been the week when I have come to fully appreciate the impact of the cuts, which has been a dominant theme of meetings this week.

The 14-19 Partnership Board had a briefing on the impact of cuts and funding uncertainties in that sector. Whilst the concentration nationally has been on the increase in student fees, little attention has been given to the cutting of Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) to college students, and its substitution with a new grant, but the published figures show a cut in the EMA from £700m to £70m. This will be a severe disincentive to young people from needy families to go to college. The changes in the Education White Paper are also very significant.

Locally, Surrey CC has reviewed its funding support to voluntary sector support service organizations, and whilst it is very commendably protecting core funding in 2011/12, at the expense of the loss of its own staff, all current grant recipients are on notice of a 30-35% cut in 2012. We have just prepared our budget for 2011/12, and will have to draw heavily on reserves, but 2012 looks grim. However at least there is a year to plan, and the words “collaboration and/or merger “ are on everyone’s lips (or should be!).

On a more positive note, we are making good progress with Surrey CC colleagues in initiating a social impact bond (see website) and I am delighted that two Surrey CC staff are to be seconded to us on a part –time basis from January to March. If we are all to get out of the predicament of cuts in the public and voluntary sectors, low economic growth, and social disruption it will be through innovation and effective collaboration between the three sectors (public, private and voluntary).

We are updating our Doyouthwork.com website to facilitate links to corporates especially about volunteering opportunities for their staff; this is to be re-launched at the end of January. I am also hoping that the two seconded staff can help us to develop our “surrey youth enterprises” site.

Another important Big Society development this week is the publication of the new Localism Bill, which includes very significant devolution of powers to local communities about planning matters and transfer of assets (buildings) to communities.

And finally ….you will want to know from last week’s blog about my experience of eating sheep’s testicles (sic) at a Turkish restaurant…”tastes just like chicken” !

Mince pies, mulled wine and first carol concert this week-end…much safer!

Mike

Meetings & Snow

2010-12-03T14:45:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone - this is my blog for the last two weeks as I missed out
last week as I was facilitating a continuous professional development
day for the six MAYouth and Community students for whom I am responsible
under the terms of the agreement we have in the Brighton Consortium. It
was a very good session, and indeed inspiring to hear about the issues
that they face as voluntary sector youth workers. They are a very
committed bunch and great to work with.

I had a meeting last week with a colleague who is setting up a workshop
with Michael Gove as the principal speaker, and to which Surrey Youth
Focus and Surrey Youth Consortium are hoping to contribute. More later.
This week has been dominated by snow, England not being a World Cup
football venue, but the English cricketers doing well against Australia!

As we have not had any central heating at the Astolat offices for nearly
two weeks (burst water pipe) I was glad of the snow on Wednesday to be
working at home, as now. Home-working is quite a skill, involving
clever IT and lots of personal discipline..I am not sure I'm great at
either.

Several meetings have been cancelled...understandably when Surrey Police
warn that one should only travel in an emergency. However I have been
working on a revised paper on the direction of travel for Surrey Youth
Focus for the next year or more (into 2012), and this concentrates on
Surrey Youth Focus being an enabler/ facilitator of partnerships.

As an example, I am in discussion with Surrey CC about taking a social
impact bond project forward on a pilot basis, and I have a worked
example from a member organisation to put forward. This could be a very
imporant development as an innovative means of funding.
Surrey CC's youth development service reorganisation plan (Fit for the
Future) has cleared their Select Committee and now goes forward to their
Cabinet on 21 December, and the level of funding for the volunatry
sector in 2011/12 will become clearer soon. There are Budget
consultation sessions on 15 December, and 26 January coming up.
Challenging times.

We're off to London on Saturday (trendy Stoke Newington) for youngest
son's 30 birthday lunch at a Turkish restaurant with the whole of our
family, and his mates - should be fun...let's hope we can get back home
afterwards!

Stay safe, keep warm!
Mike

Priorities

2010-11-19T10:13:00.000-08:00

Blog 12 /2010

This has been a quieter week catching up with the projects which have fallen behind because of other priorities like Pqasso, AGM, and incorporation.

So I have written a simple guide to the NCVYS Progress training that I have mentioned before – this is the subsidy to trainers to provide the voluntary sector with core training around safeguarding, health and safety, working with young people,etc and the opportunity of getting trainers trained to be qualified to deliver accredited vocational training – indeed “preparing to teach in the lifelong learning sector" (PtLLS) courses are becoming increasingly evident. My two briefing notes – to employers, and to actual/potential trainers should go out next week.

My colleague, Marie Silvester, is just starting the development of a Common Induction Workbook and course for the voluntary youth sector. This builds on the 7 prescribed standards set by the CWDC but adds in two others – the Common Assessment Framework, and a further module on Working with young people. The workbook will point to how/ where to get the training, and indeed I am hopeful that we can run an accredited common induction course. The underlying point is to ensure that everyone volunteering to work with young people can access a minimum standard of induction.

I went to a well attended Compact workshop in Epsom on Wednesday at which the Chief Executive of Surrey CC said that he was expecting cuts of £255 mill against their budget of £661m over a four year period. He said that a radical rethink was needed – in relation to how the sectors worked together, on the basis of commissioning outcomes (results) not organizations or services.

Surrey Youth Focus and Surrey Youth Consortium have put forward a good few positive suggestions about the radical way forward; it was good to hear today that the Consortium are being cited publicly by the DCLG as an example of good practice , and so too Surrey Youth Focus I understand. Surrey CC’s Big Society conference on Monday with the Permanent Secretary of DCLG should be interesting!

Personal Disclosure: More rugby!!   Such bad luck (not) Australia !

Trivial Pursuit:
a)      Last week: Waltzing Matilda: According to Christina Macpherson, ‘Waltzing Matilda’ was created in the sitting room of Dagworth Station in January of 1895 with the help of a young solicitor and poet, ‘Banjo’ Paterson. You don’t need to know more!
b)      This week’s question: What is the population size, capital, and principal export of Samoa (besides rugby players!)

Have fun!
Mike

Innovation

2010-11-15T01:42:00.000-08:00

I guess the theme of a busy week is about innovation.

I had a meeting on Monday with Business in the Community about the scope for building closer links between businesses and the voluntary sector. This was very positive indeed, and we will be receiving BITC’s project/volunteer request form so that we can log the needs of member organizations with them. In essence they are saying “tell us what you want and we’ll probably be able to deliver it”.

I have just met with Yvonne Hignell of Halow about her idea of building what we’re calling a “4X4” model of a small group (4) member organisations to have a partnership with like minded organizations in the business sector that can contribute particular business skills to the group of voluntary organisations.

In similar vein, I was at the Surrey Youth Consortium’s awayday yesterday when another visiting speaker from the New Economics Foundation mentioned “Camden Shares” – being a website for the vol sector in Camden enabling spare capacity (meeting rooms, training places, minibuses etc etc) to be logged and utilized by others. I think this is a great idea.

Another great idea is to further develop the borough based job clubs for unemployed people.

My own short report on social impact bonds has now been circulated widely, and is to be discussed with Surrey CC on 2 Dec.

We had our well attended AGM on Wednesday evening, when we marked the retirement of our long standing Treasurer Alan McMichael, and had great presentations from Ed Baker of Surrey Community Action about Social Enterprises, and from Becky Bowden of Surrey SATRO about volunteering. The AGM approved us becoming a company limited by guarantee, whilst remaining a charity. This completes the putting in of our “concrete foundations” (Pqasso and incorporation) and we can now concentrate on external affairs.

David Hypher and I also met with Garath Symonds of Surrey CC to “keep in touch” about the developments in thinking about the youth service re-organisation- the details of which are now going to his Cabinet in early December. But I guess there will be a preview in some way at the Surrey Compact event on 17 Nov (in Epsom) when the County Council’s Chief Executive will be explaining about the impact of cuts, and the commissioners of all main services from the sector (Including Garath) will be available to engage in discussion about the implications for each service area. To book contact anneb@surreyca.org.uk

Off to Horsham now to meet with WSCVYS about the Progress training project.

Personal disclosure: England v Australia rugby on Saturday afternoon.

Trivial Pursuit: continuing the rugby theme…
a) Last week’s question: The haka is only performed by the All Blacks, but Samoa, Fiji and Tonga all have their own versions.
b) This week: why is Waltzing Matilda so named?

Have fun!
Mike

Localism

2010-11-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

Blog 10/10
Really interesting week.

I went to the excellent National Council for Voluntary Youth Services AGM in London on Wednesday. Very struck by their close involvement of young people in their operations as an infrastructure body…..

Very interesting talk at this AGM on “The Big Society and Young People” by Tim Laughton Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families. His themes were that the Coalition is dead serious about the localism, and the community helping itself agenda. He wants to re- value the altruism of volunteering (and knows there’s a cost to it). Big emphasis on social impact bonds, and the Big Society Bank, which will have a local dimension to it. But the sector needs to consolidate and merge – too many small organizations, needs to be cost –effective. Wants to concentrate on the 99% of young people who are great, not the 1% of young people whose behaviour and circumstances grab the wrong headlines. In particular he wants to: “Challenge the monopoly of local authority youth services”.

A similarly interesting talk by the Chief Executive of New Philanthropy Capital on Preparing for Cuts and Innovation. His theme was about how outcomes can be measured, and how he is developing a tool for measuring well- being of young people.

My own paper on Social Impact Bonds is now out (see website) and being circulated widely through Surrey; it crucially depends on a response from the corporate and Public sector. I realize that links to corporates are crucial in future and I am meeting with Business in the Community colleagues next week

Mergers, partnerships, and collaboration are words on everyone’s lips; nationally Clubs for Young People are having merger talks with Catch 22; I have a paper on consolidation in the sector going to my Trustees shortly.

The NCVYS Progress training is beginning to gain momentum; heavily subsidized training for the voluntary youth sector becoming available shortly.

We have our AGM next week (Tuesday 9 November) when Members will be asked to approve our becoming a company limited by guarantee, and we have speakers on social enterprises and volunteering.

We have to keep innovating and developing partnerships.

Personal disclosure: Want a really good restaurant in London ? View new website at: http://www.magdalenrestaurant.co.uk/   (Family connection)

Trivial pursuit:
a)      Last week: After clocks have gone back - Greenwich Mean Time is so named because (Wikipedia) it is a term originally referring to mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London.
b)     This week: As the rugby international season starts this week-end, how many countries perform the Haka at the start of an international match?

Enjoy the rugby!

Mike

Unpacking

2010-10-29T01:35:00.000-07:00

This has been a quiet half term week on the roads and with emails, so I have had a bit of time for thought about the CSR which I have now downloaded (100 pages).

The loss of the School Sports Partnerships will leave a gap, but not as great as the loss of the Education Maintenance Allowances for 16-19s and its replacement with a targeted fund. I am still trying to unpack the impact of the benefits changes for young disabled people, and the requirement that increasing the age threshold for the Shared Room Rate in Housing Benefit from 25 to 35.

To quote from Shelter: “The Government announced that the single room rent restriction will be extended to under 35s in future – it has not yet been announced when this will happen. If you are single, under the age of 35 in future, and rent from a private landlord, you will normally only be entitled to enough housing benefit to cover the average cost of a single room in a shared house in your area.”

I have drafted a short briefing note for the Surrey Sports Partnership about safeguarding. It’s worth Sports Clubs remembering that Community Foundation Surrey has a Sports Fund that’s worth applying to.

On funding generally, the Big Lottery has just announced a new buildings programme, and I gather Awards for All (up to £10,000 max) have funding available too.

I have visited White Lodge and Bletchingly youth club this week – each doing great work in their very different ways.

I have also approached a business organisation to see if they can offer us a volunteer organiser to link between our members and corporates and universities; the need for this was identified in our business plan.

I have drafted a proposal to Surrey CC about how the voice of the sector might still be heard despite the approach now being taken to dispense with Childrens trusts and Strategies, – all part of the dismantling of the “top down” policies and targets, and to narrow membership of the commissioning executive to budget holders only. We need to ensure that the interests of the sector are heard at the county level.

And finally I recommend reading a report by a London charity, Community Links, about the value of community hubs - Out of the Ordinary – surely the shape of things to come. See our website on Monday.

Personal Disclosure: On leave on Friday to get some air and have a bit of a walk on the Sussex Downs – my standard 20 miler.

Trivial Pursuit:

a) Last week: median male earnings are £25,000; it seems that Rooney is being paid £200,000 a week – so he earns in a week what it takes 8 “working people” to earn in a year! No comment!

b) This week: Clocks go back this week- end; why is Greenwich Mean Time so named?”

Mike

Paradigm Shift

2010-10-22T09:15:00.000-07:00

Clearly the week has been dominated by the results of the CSR on 20 Oct. and the news of a 28% cut in local government expenditure. This together with all the other elements - students fees, change in homeless benefits for young people, will impact severely on young people. But there are opportunities.

There are two interesting Cabinet Office reports just published : one is about the role of the sector in building the Big Society - “Building a Stronger Civil Society” -and the other is the place of infrastructure organizations “Supporting a Stronger Civil Society” ( both on our website). The latter encourages mergers and collaboration between infrastructure organizations. There is £470 m to support the sector, of which £100m is for modernization. Interesting key speaker at the RAISE AGM from the Office of the Civil Society – she spoke of the “paradigm shift “ in central government thinking towards localism and community. There is no doubt that the Coalition Government are serious about devolution to the sector and communities.

My question is whether local government will be a conduit to the success of the Big Society, or a block to it. I note that Suffolk and now Kent County Council have decided strategically to outsource/devolve all services, so that they become just an enabling /commissioning body. Interesting.

Trustees meeting on Thursday approved our much more informative Annual Report and Accounts, and, very importantly, that we should recommend our AGM on 9 Nov that we become a company as well as a charity, to limit the personal risk to trustees/directors.

I visited the Park Barn (Guildford) Youth Club on Monday where Hannah Tugwell is doing great work with 50 young people attending every session, but she needs more help, which is what we were discussing.

I have written a draft paper on Social Impact Bonds which are likely to be a really important step forward in securing funding from corporates as the funding contribution of the public sector shrinks.

Personal disclosure: A MA Theology working week-end in prospect as I have to give a paper on The Spanish Mystics on Monday evening – anyone know about them?

Trivial pursuit:

a)Last week; The folk rock singer who fell down stairs to her untimely death was Sandy Denny of Fairport Convention

b) This week: How many people’s average individual earnings are equalled by Wayne Rooney’s average weekly earnings in his new contract?”

Have fun!

Mike

Assurances

2010-10-15T07:56:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

welcome to Blog No.7/10 for 15 October

This week’s GREAT news for Surrey Youth Focus is that, subject to the approval of the Charities Evaluation Service, we have been assessed by an external assessor as being fully compliant with all 12 aspects of the Pqasso quality assurance marquee at Level 1.Pqasso stands for Practical Quality Assurance for Small Organisations and is a UK wide quality assurance system. It has taken us two years to get to this point, and so my thanks to the Trustees for supporting this, but most especially to my fellow team members for sticking with it. I would recommend it as a discipline to any charity, large or small. Thanks Jan!

Big Theme: Surrey CC “Fit for the Future “ project. We had a useful Keeping in Touch meeting with Garath Symonds (Assistant Director for Young People) who has just returned from paternity leave. We discussed 3 topics: the universal/specialist / targeted continuum and how the sector could contribute at each point; the future use/ management of youth centres, and localism – the devolution of a base budget to local committees (all this subject to Cabinet approval).

Met with Hallah Shams of Guilford Diocese to project plan the use of a £6,000 Faiths in Action grant to foster inter-faith relations amongst young people. Excellent meeting, and fun too.

Sent out the papers for the Trustee meeting next week, including the Annual Report and Accounts and the arrangements for our incorporating as a company.

Great to see a former colleague Janet Crowe today returning to Surrey as CEO of Surrey Age Concern!

Personally: Great week-end in London last week-end, and dinner at Magdalen, and was given a very on- trend CD by “Mumford and Sons” a new folk- rock band who are superb – slightly in the mold of REM, out of Kat Stevens/ Fairport Convention. A quiet week- end now- I can’t stand too much gallivanting around!

Trivial pursuit:

a) Last week’s answer: grass stops growing at temperatures below 5 C, and so we probably can’t put lawn mowers away until early/mid November.

b) This week: On the folk -rock theme – which famous (female) singer of undoubtedly the greatest folk- rock group fell down stairs to her untimely death?

Have fun!

Mike

VIPs

2010-10-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

welcome to Friday blog No 6/10 for 8 October.

This week we have been working on a new Members Survey for 2010. The last was in 2008 and we need to update. To simplify matters we have split it into two parts: first a Satisfaction survey - about the extent to which our Members know about, use, and are satisfied with the services Surrey Youth Focus provides. We posted this out yesterday but it can also be completed on Survey Monkey. Then we need to know about the collective impact of the voluntary sector, and this will be reflected in an impact survey, about our Members at the end of October.

“Impact “is a key word, and the national body – NCVO have done some brilliant work enabling support service organizations in the voluntary sector to assess their impact. It has a wider application than just infrastructure bodies like us – it’s called the Value of Infrastructure Programme (VIP). Recommended.

Look out for the latest edition of Surrey Youth News – “Opportunities” summarizing some of the really positive things happening amidst the doom and gloom (which is also real)

Big Theme: Two developments to mention:

First, that the NCVYS “Progress” funded training will be out soon – at the end of the month, and this will provide outstanding capacity raising opportunities for the voluntary sector in Surrey . Watch our website , e- bulletin, and blog.

Secondly, I went to a meeting of the Children and Young people Commissioning Executive on Thursday, chaired by Andy Roberts, and opportunities are being taken under the new Government’s edicts to simplify and streamline the management and delivery of integrated services to children and young people, and which I have supported. But within this more managerialist approach we must ensure that there is still a process for the voice of the sector to be heard. More later.

Personally: A sunny week- end at last! We are off to London to have dinner with our family at a restaurant called Magdalen in Tooley St. near London Bridge, where middle son is joint chef/patron, so a “serious” dinner in prospect!

Trivial Pursuit:

a) Last week’s answer: A Granny Smith apple is so named after the Australian lady who propagated it accidentally at the turn of the 19^th century.

b) This week: At what temperature does grass stop growing in the SE?

Enjoy the week-end!

Mike

Lining Up Ducks

2010-10-01T05:07:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Welcome to Friday blog No.5/10

We are still very busy internally and had a “Pqasso Team challenge” session on Tuesday to ensure that we have all our ducks in a straight line for the external assessor in two weeks time (we do!) We have taken out a contract to dispose of old archive files and will have spare capacity within the contract to offer as a service to member organizations. Details out soon.

Met on Tuesday afternoon with Peter Gordon the new Chairman elect of Surrey Community Action who has an impressive CV from Unilever, consultancy, and Business Link. We had an interesting and strategic discussion.

On Wednesday several of us met with Dr Andrew Povey, the Leader of Surrey CC. The outcome is that a small working group will meet in short order to identify key projects underpinning The Big Society in Surrey we should work on together – probably NEET reduction, community buildings, volunteering, changing culture and so on. This initial identification of core projects (which then need to be worked up) will be put to the Surrey Strategic Partnership conference on The Big Society on 22 Nov –Note for your diary.

Big Picture: Continuing importance of The Big Society see, or rather listen to, excellent Radio 4 Analysis programme on the political background to it. Here’s the link to listen: podcast http://bbc.in/aOJlA9.

Personal disclosure: Staying at the Benedictine Worth Abbey last week – end was a profound joy. I’m running a Myers Briggs session for my church council this Saturday, and taking Evensong on Sunday, so theory and practice come together.

Trivial Pursuit:

a) Last week: The 400th anniversary is of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610

b) This week’s question: Since the apple harvest is with us why are Granny Smith’s apples so named?

Enjoy the (wet) week- end!

Mike

All About Structure

2010-09-24T07:42:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone

Welcome to my Friday Blog No.4/10

Not a lot to report this week, though I am intensely busy on internal matters (Incorporation, Pqasso, Annual report and Accounts and so on). Necessary, but not interesting to readers.

So, a few wider reflections. There was an excellent article in The Times on Thursday about the Big Society, referring to a new book by Robert Putnam (author of the famous “Bowling Alone”) in which he points to the importance of faith organizations in providing a disproportionate number of volunteers and community activists, but wondering how social capital will be built as society becomes increasingly secular. By contrast, there is a really important study commissioned by Guildford Diocese - “Faith Communities – The Hidden Contribution” – into the economic impact of the work done by faith communities.

I was at NCVYS in London on Thursday at a very useful networking meeting about the Value of Infrastructure Programme, being the title of a programme being developed by NCVO about how to measure the impact of infrastructure organizations. Impressive. We also exchanged thoughts about financial cuts, the Big Society, and new structures. It seems to me that everyone I meet is working really hard against a cumulative background of cuts and increased workload. But I really do think we must have a sense of where we want to be in the voluntary sector AFTER the cuts, and I don’t yet see that vision emerging. My contribution will be to write “think pieces” on social impact bonds, and restructuring.

Big Picture: There are positives. I proof read the next edition of Surrey Youth News this morning – it is full of amazing stories about what young people have done: six Girl Guides swimming across the Channel; a disabled young man doing the DoE expedition training in his “off- road” wheel chair; Vinvolved volunteers working on an intergenerational art project with elderly people, and so on. Then there was an inspirational speech by Dame Stephanie Shirley to the Community Development Foundation, Surrey, on Tuesday about the value, and virtue, of philanthropy. See their website.

Personal disclosure: Delighted that Wasps beat Leicester last Saturday – great match; this week- end by way of contrast I am off on retreat this week- end to the very serene and beautiful Benedictine Abbey at Worth, near Crawley. No phones, tv, computers, indeed complete silence from 9.00pm until 9.00 am. A joy.

Trivial pursuit: I have had complaints (from NCVYS colleagues) that my questions are too obscure, so this is easier:

a) Last week’s answer: Aphrodite was Greek goddess of Love; Love were a great American West coast group with whom Jimi Hendrix played in his early years!

b) This week: (Classical music) 2010 is the 400 th anniversary of which famous piece of classical music (and no.2 in my desert island discs )??

Enjoy your weekend!

Mike

Meetings, Meetings

2010-09-17T01:53:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to my Friday Blog No.3/10.

Well the main focus of the week has been preparing for Pqasso, and drafting the Members’ survey…and meetings.

We were visited by a potential new trustee on Tuesday for an induction session and to meet our small team; she will make a great contribution to our Board.

I had a good meeting with our uniformed organisations on Tuesday evening – Scout numbers up by 4.7%, and so too Guides. Concerns about grant cuts, and how figures of “contacts” are used by grant funders with the risk of double counting. Discussed possible use of youth centre buildings. Feedback on July ‘s Celebration of Youth and preference for an April Celebration next year.

Meetings on Wednesday of the Surrey Sports Board discussing the melding together of the established Surrey Youth Games with a new (SCC funded -£250,000) Surrey School Games. Also a new structure of sport competitions from Sport England. I might need to convene a meeting of all our sports organisations.

Then equally good meeting of Surrey 14-19 Partnership. Further Education speak / jargon is quite impossible – no one understands it all, BUT there are real opportunities here for some SYF member to get into this arena. We all need to understand the new Qualifications and Credit Framework better.

A second round of Faiths in Action grant (£6,000) has fallen into my lap – manna from……the Community Development Foundation…..about which I am linking up with the Guildford Diocese.

Big Picture: In London today, Friday, for meeting at our national body, NCVYS, about project planning the launch of heavily subsidised course for the voluntary youth sector. I was part of (another) consortium bid with CVYS colleagues from East and West Sussex that was successful in its bid. More later. Congratulations to Surrey Youth Consortium for its formal launch today.

Personal Disclosure: Enjoyed DVD last week- end of the first Stieg Larsson book in the “Girl with Dragon Tatoo" trilogy (read on holiday). Great Swedish production; recommended. Off with my three boys (aged 30 ish) on Saturday to support Wasps v. Leicester and MA Theology lectures start next week. Almost too much fun! (Yeah I know!)

Trivial Pursuit:

a) Last week’s Answer: Paul Weller is of course a Patron of Woking YMCA and therefore aways a winner! (Well done Terry Eckersley)

b) This week’s question: What is the link between: Aphrodite, and a great West Coast American Group from the late 1960s, and Jimmy Hendrix??

Enjoy the weekend!

Mike

Is it already Friday?

2010-09-10T05:47:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone.

Welcome to my weekly Friday blog.

We welcomed Sophie Webb to join our team this week. She is with us for six months under the sponsorship of the Future Jobs Fund and is a great asset already. She is working on cleaning up our database of Member organizations, so that she and Kate can then undertake a new Members’ Survey. We want to find out your opinions of ours services, and also check out the scale of your activities with young people so that the Voice of Young people can be magnified at what is a tough time. Impact is a key word. So I commend the Future Jobs Fund to you as a source of (free) staff.

We have passed through the first stage of the Pqasso process – the desk review of our submitted documents – stacks of them! Next stage is that the assessor inspects us on 13 Oct.

The main focus this week has been on getting our Annual Report and Accounts together; we are improving its presentation considerably, recognizing its value as a marketing document to funders.

I mentioned Social Impact Bonds last week, and you will have heard about the Peterborough Prison project on the national news today. More later

Heard a very interesting presentation by the Chairman of the National Community Foundation Network about the Big Society…. No one builds a pyramid from the top down….

Great discussion last night at the University for the Creative Arts at Epsom under the auspices of Common Purpose, and a presentation by the Dean and Professor of Creative Arts on the subject of creativity – how do we capture creativity and risk taking rather than saying- no, can’t be done, too risky , failure, redundant? He pointed out that in the USA and India mistakes, are just episodes to learn from.

Big Picture: Collaborative working, and social impact bonds.

Personal disclosure: Had builders in over the last two weeks to renovate our cloakroom….why is it always that builders always muck up something (our central heating) when doing other work? I also got older this week…and wiser?

Trivial Pursuits:

1) Last week’s answer is that Plato’s theory of the cave was about prisoners in a cave seeing only shadows, not ideal forms , unless they climbed out. The Family (Roger Chapman was a great 1960s group with which , later, the lead singer had a hit with “Shadow on the wall”. No one got it, so this week:-

2) Paul Weller missed out on this week’s Mercury Awards, but despite this, why is he always a winner?

Cheers,

Mike

Enter the Blogosphere

2010-09-06T03:19:00.000-07:00

Friday 3rd September

Hi everyone, welcome to Mike’s Blog through which I want to keep you up to date with what we’ve been doing in Surrey Youth Focus, and my personal opinions on what’s affecting the voluntary community and faith sector – hereafter “THE sector”. There will also be some personal stuff from me, but not of the sort that will make the front page of the News of the World (I hope!).

To be slightly serious I am not intending to name individuals with whom I’ve had contact in the week as I need to continue to work with many colleagues in local authorities and the sector, and I don’t want to be shunned, so…your secrets are safe with me!?!

This last week has been dominated by meetings about the Connexions service, and the future contracts for the voluntary sector. As a result of the last meeting on Thursday evening with the Surrey CC’s Assistant Director for Young People and colleagues from the Surrey Youth Consortium I have an optimistic feeling that good progress can now be made.

The other theme to the week has been sending off Pqasso documents (about 35!) to the external assessor who will be visiting us on 13 October to assess whether we meet the Practical Quality Assurance for Small Organisations Level 1 standard. More on this later.

The prospect of budget cuts to Surrey Youth Focus is a concern, though we have strong reserves. I had a performance review meeting with the Surrey CC providers of our core funding, and I have had intimations that current funding levels may not be sustainable next year, though our value is not doubted.

Talking of which, we have just got another £20,000 grant from the CWDC to put together a standard Induction Programme for new workers/ volunteers into the sector. We’ll be producing and printing workbooks for new staff/ volunteers so that they can record each element of induction training received – Safeguarding, CAF etc.

We welcome Sophie who starts with us on Tuesday to work on a new Members’ Survey; her post is funded by the Future Jobs Fund (and so free to Surrey Youth Focus) and I would encourage colleagues to recruit through this scheme.

Big picture: Importance of social enterprises, social impact fund, and social return on investment – more on all these later.

Personal disclosure: brilliant week – end a few weeks ago camping with my three sons, and grandson (age 2) in Weymouth, Dorset, and seeing Toy Story in 3D. Great!

Trivial Pursuit: What’s the connection between Plato’s Cave, and The Family? (great late1960s Group). Answer next week.

Cheers,